KARACHI: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Sindh Assembly on Wednesday directed the provincial government to set up a desalination and recycling plant at Zero Point near Manchar Lake to treat toxic discharges from the right bank outfall drain (RBOD)-I and RBOD-III.

The PAC meeting, chaired by Chairman Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, also instructed the provincial government to start work on extending the RBOD-II alignment from Sehwan to the sea.

PAC Members Qasim Soomro and Khurram Soomro, Irrigation Secretary Zarif Khero and other officials also attended the meeting.

The committee reviewed audit paragraphs relating to the irrigation department, including the 273-kilometre RBOD-II project from Sehwan to the sea.

Urges revival of RBOD-II and tells Sindh govt to prepare a scheme for treating effluent from two other drains

The irrigation department officials told the PAC that Rs40 billion had been spent out of the Rs61.985bn revised cost of RBOD-II, but work on the scheme had been suspended since 2015 due to the non-appointment of a consultant.

The irrigation secretary said that no funds were currently available for the project and that a policy decision had been taken not to proceed further with RBOD-II in its present form. “The condition of the project has deteriorated,” he said, adding that floods had damaged its structures and that the scheme was no longer feasible.

Khero told the PAC that the alignment passed through 300km of the Indus River. “If work is resumed, an additional Rs300 billion will be required,” he added.

The irrigation secretary said that the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) was responsible for RBOD-I and RBOD-III and had to install a recycling plant before Manchar Lake to prevent toxic water from the Main Nara Valley (MNV) drain and Balochistan from entering the lake.

He also told the committee that a meeting with the Wapda chairman had been scheduled for July 16 to take up the issue. “Until the matter of recycling RBOD-I and RBOD-III discharges is resolved with Wapda, work on RBOD-II cannot proceed,” he said.

Khuhro questioned why Wapda had not been bound to install the plant over the years and asked on what basis the policy decision to halt RBOD-II had been taken. “If the government intends to close RBOD-II, it should announce it formally; otherwise, the PAC will continue to seek answers from the department,” he said.

PAC Member Soomro said that Wapda was supposed to recycle toxic water from Balochistan’s Hamal Lake before it flowed into Manchar Lake. “Without desalination, the water flowing [into the system] will contaminate Hamal Lake, Manchar Lake and the Indus River,” he said.

Khuhro said that if the issue was the recycling of toxic water, then the chief minister should be asked to prepare a scheme for a desalination and recycling plant before Manchar Lake, and work should be started to complete the RBOD-II alignment from Sehwan to the sea, as it was an important project for Sindh.

The PAC subsequently decided to write to the chief minister, asking the Sindh government to prepare a scheme for the installation of a desalination and recycling plant at Zero Point near Manchar Lake for RBOD-I and RBOD-III effluent, and to initiate work on extending the RBOD-II alignment to the sea.

The committee also wrote to the chief secretary seeking the immediate appointment of a consultant for RBOD-II.

The PAC was told that the RBOD-II was launched in 2001 at a cost of Rs14bn. The cost was revised three times to Rs61.885bn. Of the revised Rs61.985bn, Rs44bn had been released, and Rs40bn had been spent.

Water theft

Taking up the issue of the alleged lifting of Sindh’s share of water between Tunsa and Guddu barrages, the PAC chairman asked whether the installation of pumping machines along this reach was constitutional.

The irrigation secretary said that lifting water with machines between Tunsa and Guddu was unconstitutional, and that Sindh had already lodged a protest with the Indus River System Authority (Irsa).

Khuhro said water was Sindh’s lifeline and the province would not tolerate the lifting of its share. “The federal government should be approached to install a telemetry system at Tunsa, Guddu and Sukkur barrages to monitor water flows,” he said.

The irrigation secretary said that work on the installation of the telemetry system was underway by the federal government.

The PAC also took strong exception to the continued flow of water in the Tunsa-Panjnad (TP) Link Canal and Chashma-Jhelum (CJ) Link Canal.

The PAC chief said that these were flood canals and should be operated only during floods, but water was being released in them in violation of the law.

“The Sindh government should protest to the federation and demand the immediate closure of flow in TP Link and CJ Link canal, and that IRSA be bound to ensure transparent distribution of water among the provinces and provide Sindh with its full share under the 1991 Water Accord,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2026