LAHORE: An irrigation watercourse serving around 40 acres in Alipur has allegedly been reduced to a narrow passage after construction of a house over its alignment, but the irrigation department has ordered cleaning of the existing channel instead of restoring it to its recorded width.

The dispute concerns the watercourse pertaining to Outlet No. 28150/R of Ghalwan Distributary, Sher Sultan Canal Sub-Division, where farmers Muhammad Afzal, Abdul Majeed, Muhammad Akram, Ghulam Hussain and Manzoor Ahmad sought restoration of the channel, alleging that a family had encroached upon it and constructed houses.

According to the complainants, the watercourse was recorded as 11-foot wide but construction over most of its alignment had reduced the available passage to around one to two feet at the affected point. They said the house had been constructed about a month before the site inspection.

The irrigation department conducted an inquiry into the complaint. The inquiry found permanent residential structures along both sides of the watercourse and observed that it had remained substantially non-functional for a considerable period and was being used mainly for sewerage disposal.

Affected farmers question irrigation dept’s decision to clean, not restore water channel

The Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO-Canal), after hearing the parties, obtaining verification from the Zilladar and Patwari and personally inspecting the site, issued his decision on Sept 29.

According to the decision (copy available with Dawn), the SDO directed the concerned shareholders/users to clean and maintain the existing alignment and restore irrigation supply through it.

The SDO did not order removal of the construction or restoration of the watercourse to its recorded 11-foot width.

The officer rejected the demand for removal of the alleged encroachment, observing that widening the channel would involve disturbance or removal of permanent residential structures and was not warranted under the existing site conditions.

The order also stated that an alternative watercourse was available and could be used for irrigation where required.

The farmers, however, said the department’s decision had acknowledged the existence of encroachment but did not order its removal to fully restore the watercourse.

They said the watercourse was a pre-Partition irrigation channel and that restricting it to the existing narrow passage would prevent them from properly irrigating their crops. “If the watercourse is not available for irrigation, why should we pay abiana (water tax) to the government?” they questioned.

They said the SDO mentioned availability of an alternate watercourse in its decision but it did not connect to their land to irrigate it.

The farmers also referred to provisions of the Punjab Irrigation, Drainage and Rivers Act 2023 concerning interference with watercourses. Under Section 46, land that has remained under a watercourse cannot be put to another use, while demolition, alteration or interference with a watercourse requires written permission of the superintending canal officer.

Section 47 provides for restoration where a watercourse has been demolished, altered, obstructed or damaged without proper authority. The law also provides for maintenance of a watercourse ledger containing details including its alignment, layout and the land irrigated by it.

The SDO’s order does not state that any written permission was issued for altering the disputed watercourse or constructing a residential structure over its alignment.

The respondent party, however, told the department that the watercourse had remained non-functional for several years and their house was away from the actual alignment.

The department directed its field staff to ensure compliance with the order and submit a report regarding cleaning and restoration.

The farmers maintain that cleaning the remaining passage cannot restore the watercourse to its original condition if its recorded width has been occupied by a residential structure.

They said they would challenge the decision before the higher irrigation authorities and seek restoration of the watercourse to its recorded alignment and width.

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2026