ISLAMABAD, Aug 23: The Parliamentary Committee on Water Resources (PCWR) has recommended to the president and the prime minister to visit all the four provinces to forge consensus on development of a big reservoir.

A member of the committee told Dawn on Monday that an interim report had 'unofficially' been presented to the water and power ministry and 'other relevant quarters'.

He said the report had three major aspects - first, the committee did not specifically recommend any new reservoir; second, it has advised the president and the prime minister to visit the four provinces in an effort to forge a consensus; and third, the issue should be debated in parliament without wasting any time.

The member said the committee at a meeting, held here on Monday under the chairmanship of Senator Nisar A. Memon, decided to formally submit its report to the government through the federal cabinet with the permission of the National Assembly Speaker.

Mr Memon was not available to the media after the meeting. The member said the committee did not come up with any fresh idea on ways of developing political consensus; it only put together the information and points of view of the stakeholders which were in the government's knowledge.

He said the report contained viewpoints of the four provincial governments as expressed by the chief ministers at a recent meeting of the committee and reported in newspapers.

It informed the government about the update on the three studies on water escapages downstream Kotri, stressed to the government the need for providing Rs204 billion, starting with Rs8 billion in the first year, to the provinces for the development of small dams, besides the lining and brick-lining of water-courses, minors and distributories.

The committee was constituted by the National Assembly Speaker in October, last year, following its announcement by the president. It comprises MNA Jehangir Khan Tareen from Punjab, MNA Mohammad Ali Malkani from Sindh, MNA Sher Akbar Khan from the NWFP, MNA Syed Abdul Qadir Jamaluddin Al-Gilani from Balochistan, Senator Mir Mohammad Naseer Mengal from Balochistan, Senator Syed Dilawar Abbas from Punjab and Senator Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli from the NWFP.

Under the terms of reference, the committee was to review previous water accords and discuss its impact for incorporation into the National Irrigation Water Strategy.

The committee was required to develop a water strategy with national consensus in order to ensure sustainability of the national irrigation system by reducing huge water losses through critical maintenance of the system, including the lining of canals and to ensure that the quantum of necessary water storages required for the optimal and sustainable running of the entire canal system is secured and protected.

The committee was also empowered to suggest ways to ensure that the water strategy remained environment-friendly and preserved the ecology of the country, with special focus on the minimum required outflow/discharge below Kotri into the sea.

The committee was also asked to look into the areas outside the Indus Basin System and suggest ways of using the available water resources of these areas through means such as check dams, delayed action dams and rainwater harvesting.