ISLAMABAD: One of the reasons for the Karachi water crisis has been the illegal water hydrants installed in various parts of the city. However, on Wednesday members of the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat were surprised to find out that private water tankers in the capital have been using the Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) water hydrants.

The committee directed the CDA to take steps to resolve the water crisis warning that failure to do so would make Islamabad the world’s only water scare federal capital.

The water crisis in the capital is traced back to the 1990s when the water supply began to dwindle in the face of population growth. Moreover, leakage in the water supply system is growing problem and projects such as acquiring 200 million gallons daily (MGD) from Tarbela Dam could not materialise.

CDA Chairman Maroof Afzal informed the committee that the daily requirement of water is 140 MGD but only 65 MGD water is available in the city. “At the moment, each resident of the federal capital uses 60 gallons (227 litres) of water a day,” he said.

Mr Maroof said that the CDA owns 26 water tankers which have been supplying water all over the city.

Committee questions qualification of CDA official

“Each tanker carrying 30,000 litres provides water to four houses and charges Rs800 (Rs200 each) from them. We have no option but to ration so that everyone gets some water,” he said.

The CDA chairman said that the project to acquire 800 MGD of water in four phases from Tarbela Dam should be implemented soon or water should be acquired from another source.

In response to a question from Senator Kamil Ali Agha, the CDA chairman admitted that private tankers get water from CDA hydrants.

Senator Agha pointed out the injustice in a system which forces the residents of the federal capital to pay for CDA’s water, sold to them by private tankers. “Water is barely ever supplied to houses and people have been forced to buy water from private tankers. In some areas, buying water has become a regular expense for households,” he said.

The tanker mafia, the senator said, is not interested in the resolution of the water crisis.

“Meanwhile, the CDA never forgets to send a bill for water, which it never supplies,” he said.

The senator also reminded the committee that the idea of acquiring water from the Tarbela Dam will never become a reality because the provinces are unlikely to give their water to Islamabad.

“Within a few years, Islamabad’s water scarcity will become a source of embarrassment for the nation,” he warned.

Standing Committee Chairman Mohammad Talha Mehmood said the water tanker business is worth millions while Senator Kalsoon Perveen said Rs2,200 is charged for a tanker.

“In Murree a tanker of water is sold for Rs5,000,” Senator Saifullah Khan Bangash added.

Cabinet Secretary Raja Hasan Abbas told the committee that he lives in a government house in F Sector and water is supplied to his house for only 45 minutes to an hour a day.

CDA member environment’s particulars sought During the meeting, Member Environment CDA Mustafain Kazmi’s name came up a number of times over the federal capital’s water issues. Senator Talha commented that Mr Kazmi is rather ‘famous’ while Senator Kamil said: “Mr Kazmi knows some art, which allows him to be appointed to any post.”

“It should be checked what expertise Mr Kazmi possesses because he has worked on various posts which include administration and environment,” he said.

The committee directed the CDA chairman to provide details of Mr Kazmi’s qualifications and expertise in the next meeting.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2015

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