June 30, 2007	Saturday	Jamadi-us-Sani 14, 1428

KARACHI, June 29: The population of Sindh is likely to swell by 2030 to about 90 million from 40 million now and water availability per person will fall to 700 cubic metres by 2025, which is 300 cubic metres less than the internationally recognised scarcity ratio, warns an official document of the provincial government titled “Sindh Vision 2030’’.

The document quotes government statistics to point out that currently Punjab has the best rural water supply system where only 7 per cent population depends on a well, a river, a canal or a stream.

In Sindh, 24 per cent of the rural population depends on these sources for water but it is worse in the NWFP where 46 per cent population is dependent on them. It is worst in Balochistan where 72 per cent rural population does not have a regular water supply system.

The document, to be officially launched early next month, is claimed to have been prepared in consultation with more than 1,000 persons through discussions, meetings, workshops and e-mail correspondence. “No other province in Pakistan has taken such innovative, integrated and comprehensive approach compiling the long-term vision of the province,’’ its authors claim.

Its focus is on water availability in the context of existing shortages and the issues involved in water distribution among the provinces and all related issues, but the document takes a much broader view of all aspects of the challenges to be faced in coming years and it proposes strategies and offers specific recommendations.

“The increasing gap between supply and demand has led to severe water shortages in almost all sectors,’’ it points out while giving a stern warning “the future holds a darker picture’’. Water continues to be the most exigent issue faced by Sindh and “as long as both rural and urban Sindhis do not learn to value water, it will be impossible for this issue to be controlled’’, the document declares.

Located in arid zone, Sindh gets hardly an average of 100 to 200 millimetre rainfall in a year with high rates of evaporation. The groundwater supply is hardly five million acres feet and Sindh is forces to rely entirely on the 49 million acre feet (37 per cent) of its share from Indus, according to Water Accord reached in 1991.

“The situation of water supply is deteriorating at an alarming rate,’’ the document recalls the impact of severe droughts, scant rainfalls and extremely low supply of fresh water on Sindh’s economy in last two decades. “All of this, with politicisation of water distribution issue, has led to socio-economic problems and has caused tremendous strain on the rural and urban economy of Sindh and adverse impact on lives of people living in cities and villages.

While discussing water consumption in industry, the document pleads for disposal of industrial waste water by way of recycling, cleaner production practices and cleaner technologies. It mentions the setting up of Combined Effluent Treatment Plant at Korangi which is successfully disposing of industrial waste of 170 tanneries in Korangi industrial area.

For generation of electric energy from water, the document opposes construction of big dams on upstream as it is fraught with causing flood at upstream and rendering dry the low stream area and capital costs are very high besides being a highly controversial issue. Instead, the Sindh Vision 2030 proposes construction of small hydel projects and installation of water turbines on run of the river or canal falls for energy generation.

The document sets target of supply of safe drinking water to all areas and to every person in the province with fully functional sanitation and sewerage facilities.