KARACHI: Water disputes between Sindh and Punjab have posed a new challenge to the relationship between the federation and provinces as caretaker Sindh Chief Minister retired Justice Maqbool Baqar expressed serious concerns over what he called a “covert” plan of the Indus River System Authority’s (Irsa) for the extension of irrigated agriculture in Cholistan, it emerged on Monday.

The irrigated agriculture is an area equipped to provide water to the crops via artificial means of irrigation such as by diverting streams, flooding, or spraying.

Justice Baqar has also appealed to the caretaker prime minister to defer the decision till an elected government is in office.

In a letter to Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, the caretaker CM said that the Punjab government had presented a proposal for issuance of ‘Water Availability Certificate’ for extension of irrigated agriculture in Cholistan — the desert part in Punjab — by transferring water through a link canals project.

Project would create social, economic unrest among people of Sindh, Baqar tells caretaker PM

“This proposal involves construction of feeder channel with designed capacity of 4,122 cfs [cubic feet per second], off taking from Suleimanki Headworks to feed areas of districts Bahawalnagar and Bahawalpur having gross command area of 696,651 acres and cultivable command area of 610,237 acres,” he wrote to the PM.

He stated that it was apprised with concern that the complete exercise of grant of ‘Water Availability Certificate’ for the development of water resources of Cholistan by Irsa had been done “covertly and abruptly without sharing any prior information with the province. The Water Availability Certificate issued by Irsa on Jan 17, 2024 has grossly jeopardised the water rights of the Sindh province”, he stated.

The chief minister said in the letter that the water share of Punjab was already allocated to existing canal systems in the Water Accord, adding that the maximum utilisation of the Punjab during Kharif season was 37.7 MAF in 2007 against allocation of 37.67 MAF. “It means that existing canal capacity of the Punjab province was more than its Water Accord allocations,” he said.

Furthermore, he said, the water availability as per Para-4 of the Water Accord could not be ascertained until and unless water downstream Kotri Barrage was finalised. “Hence, water cannot be provided to the project under Para-4 of the Water Accord 1991,” he added.

Justice Baqar said that the presentation of the Punjab government for the proposed project indicated water availability for average escapade below Korti Barrage during years 1976-2022 as 27.091 MAF.

“However, if we look at the figures of last 22 years [2000 to 2022], the average water escapade to sea downstream Kotri Barrage has remained around 1,402 MAF,” he said, adding that this reduced trend would continue with the development of upstream mega water projects and development of water projects on eastern rivers by India and negative impact of climate change.

“I, therefore, appeal to you on behalf of the people of Sindh to defer any consideration on the subject matter till the time the elected government is in office, as this is clearly beyond the mandate of the caretaker government and is bound to create social and economic unrest among the citizens,” he said, concluding that any decision taken in haste and to the detriment of the interests of the province would be very difficult to handle by any government in future.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2024