The federal and Sindh governments have conceived identical water projects over Kotri barrage, downstream the Indus. The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) has devised the ‘Sindh Barrage’ project, 45 kilometres upstream, at the confluence of the Indus and the Arabian Sea in Thatta district.

As per Wapda’s conceptual study, the barrage would help check sea intrusion, store water from the Indus and revive the ecology of the delta that is dying at a fast pace.

Furthermore, it could supply drinking water to Badin, Tharparkar and Karachi through off-taking canals. Interestingly, the Sindh government has formulated a similar project, ‘Delta Barrage’, in its Annual Development Programme 2019-20. Both the governments have reached a rare understanding over this Rs120 billion project last month.

The Delta Barrage project will help check sea intrusion, store water from the Indus and revive the ecology of the area

While this project has yet to commence, the fate of three other vital water projects in Sindh — two of them storage-oriented — hangs in balance. Delays have led to cost overruns.

This has prompted the apex court to take notice of two of them — Right Bank Outfall Drain-II (RBOD-II) and Nai Gaj dam. The Supreme Court has set November 2019 as the completion deadline for RBOD-II. The third project of Darawat Dam stands completed, requiring the Sindh government’s attention for operational control.

Nai Gaj dam, with 0.30 million acre feet (MAF) storage capacity and 4.2 megawatt power generation capacity, is a federally funded project. It is being built on a hill torrent called ‘Nai Gaj’ in local parlance, in Dadu district.

While the dam was intended to irrigate 28,800 acres of land, it lies incomplete since its inception in 2012. Its tentative completion date is in 2020. Its second revised project cost (PC-I) of Rs47.73bn is awaiting the approval of the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) since January 2019.

The row between the Sindh and the federal government pertains to the cost of the dam against the background of the 18th amendment. The federal government argues that since Sindh is the lone beneficiary, it should share the cost while the Sindh government views strongly differ.

The rain-fed Darawat dam is a vital project that Wapda completed in 2014. It has yet to be handed over. One argument is that Sindh’s irrigation officials intend to inspect its behaviour once it attains optimum storage

The cost of the project keeps fluctuating as well. Only Rs11bn out of 26bn — around 40pc of its first revised cost — has been released so far. In 2009, the cost of the project was Rs16.92bn but was revised upwards to Rs59bn in 2012. After the Central Development Working Party slashed down its components, the cost came down to Rs34bn. Ecnec eventually brought the cost further down to Rs26.236bn in 2015.

Cost escalation led to another revision to Rs47bn in 2016. Ecnec, according to Wapda’s website, deferred the revision due to the Sindh government’s decision on cost sharing in January 2019.

Chief Minister Sindh’s special assistant on irrigation Ashfaq Memon is not persuaded by the federal government’s ‘cost sharing argument’. He contends that the federal government in the past has executed projects for the welfare of a single province and Sindh should not be an exception.

“Sindh will honour its commitment as per the original PC-I regarding the cost of land acquisition, security and resettlement that was first revised to Rs1.9bn. We will bear the same if the revision is agreed at Rs47bn by Ecnec.” Work on the dam remains suspended till it gets Ecnec’s nod. The dam will feed Manchhar Lake through a 50 cusec underground water supply line to keep the lake alive.

The rain-fed Darawat dam is a vital project for Sindh that Wapda completed in 2014. However, it has yet to be handed over. One argument is that Sindh’s irrigation officials intend to inspect the dam’s behaviour once it attains optimum storage of 112 meters. The current storage, after the recent monsoon rains, is 106 meters against the dead level of 104 meters. Wapda insists it is not bound by anything after the defect notification period (DNP) ends.

“We are pressing Sindh to take over its operational control. The project’s DNP which holds the contractor responsible for a dam’s operation or anything that happens to the project ended in 2016. It was extended for a year till 2017. Now Sindh should come forward and take over its management”, says Hyderabad-based Wapda’s GM (South) Naeem Arif.

The Sindh government has to develop the command area of Darawat dam on 25,000 acres which is to be distributed among landless peasantry, preferably women as per the then PPP’s federal government. A committee, Mr Memon says, has been formed by Chief Minister Murad Shah to expedite work for the distribution of the land.

The 273km long RBOD-II project started in 2001 at a cost of Rs14bn. It was supposed to be completed in 2006. The RBOD-II project was the worst hit amongst these three projects in terms of delays and cost overruns. At Rs62bn, its current cost is three times higher than its initial estimated cost.

A Rs4.5bn scam has surfaced in relation to this project, involving that Sindh irrigation department officials. A formal inquiry is underway after a departmental probe.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, September 16th, 2019