The government seems to be finally realizing that conditions of a water famine are fast approaching the country and that existing resources need to be harnessed in earnest and new ones developed without loss of time.

The formulation of National Water Policy (NWP) and the establishment of a high level National Water Council (NWC) are steps in that direction. It goes without saying that the decisions have come late-they are late not marginally but by years.

Water-related issues had started emerging as far back as in the late eighties and experts had started pointing out that Pakistan was rapidly moving towards acute water shortage that would, on the one side, undermine agriculture that is the strength of the national economy and on the other, deprive more and more people of drinking water.

The present government's effort to organize water distribution, though essentially positive, is nevertheless flawed. The NWC is to be headed by the prime minister and comprise the four chief ministers, four federal ministers (water and power, food and agriculture, finance, environment and law and justice), and a number of federal secretaries and agriculture ministers of provinces plus experts and 'other stakeholders'.

Stakeholders need to be clearly defined and individuals on the body should be identified to create confidence in the NWC. While the harnessing and management of resources is the responsibility of the government, it is not the sole user of resources.

Treating it as a purely administrative issue is handling it in the wrong way. Water is something that concerns the entire population and its distribution has accumulated political dimensions, particularly between the provinces of Sindh and Punjab.

Ignoring this aspect of the issue would further complicate and deepen water problems confronting the country. Political parties of the country are as much stakeholders as any other group and keeping them out of water's distribution is likely to trigger negative repercussions rather than contribute towards the straightening of the issue and pave the way for its resolution on an equitable basis that satisfies stakeholders across all divides.

A management body comprising government leaders, opposition politicians, stakeholders of all denominations and farmers of various levels from the two provinces needs to be set up if the issue is to be resolved earnestly because at the heart of the problem is the distrust some segments in the two provinces have developed over the years because of the mishandling of the water scarcity and exploitation of this precious resource by certain segments.

It would not be wrong to say that many people in Sindh believe that influential groups of Punjab usurp their share of water and that those in Punjab say that the allegation is unfounded.

There is no need to sit on judgment on the views of some groups of Sindh or to agree with those in Punjab, the importance of removing distrust and creating a situation wherein all stakeholders feel they are fairly served Can not be over stressed.

This end is not to be achieved without the participation of people that have been kept out of the government's latest dispensation. The authorities would be doing the right thing by expanding the membership of the NWC as also by establishing a Punjab-Sindh body to resolve contentious water issues between the two provinces and build in them confidence in each other that has been eroded by past mistakes.

Another important requirement is empowering farmers and vesting in them the authority to resolve water problems. Provincial irrigation and drainage authorities (PIDAs) and area water boards (AWBs) must be strengthened if distribution of water is to be made smoother and more efficiently tuned to serving farmers.

While there hasn't been a reportable problem in the fields because the system of wara bandi the farmers have followed for decades has served them reliably and efficiently, there is undeniably the tendency among influential big landlords to deprive the less resourceful ones among the farmers and misappropriate their share of water.

Tail end farmers have particularly suffered at the hands of privileged segments. This problem has become more acute with the entry of a new class of feudal bosses who have been allotted lands for services they are said to have rendered.

The policy of distributing state assets in this manner is deplorable but unfortunately the matter does not end there. The allotees assert and exploit their connections in high places to the detriment of the farming sector.

As they cannot and, because of coinciding vested interests, do not compete with big landowners as they both belong to the same political side, small farmers are pushed harder to the wall.

The government must bring an end to such practices if it sincerely wishes to improve distribution and use of water. No plan is likely to succeed if the principle of equity is not strictly and transparently followed.

Meanwhile, another positive development has taken place with the commissioning of the telemetry system. The computerized system costing Rs450 million could not be made operational up to now because of differences among, and bickering between, various water-related organizations of the federal and provincial governments.

It seems that all the problems have not been ironed out so far because some reports suggest that a few of the faults in the system are still to be removed. That should be done at the earliest because computerized telemetry system provides concrete and reliable monitoring that should go a long way towards allaying the misgivings of the provinces about the correct provision of their share of water.

Installed at 23 sites in the country, the system covers the entire irrigation spectrum and has the potential to free the country of the controversial and non-reliable manual monitoring that left a lot to be desired, could be manipulated by partisan managers and created room for controversies.

The government seems to be clear that the computerized system is the answer to many woes in the water sector and has allocated a budget of Rs25 million for its maintenance and operation expenses.

Making it effective would depend on the ability of the government to have its plans implemented, an area that does not evoke much confidence. There is evidence of some resistance from provinces but if that is the position, it is unfortunate because strengthening the system is in the interest of not only the politicians but should serve the entire farming community across the country, particularly the two major provinces producing agricultural commodities that the country badly needs.

Looking at the latest developments, one can say that the ground has been levelled for just and more productive distribution of water but new decisions and developments cannot be automatically an end in themselves but they certainly can be means to one.

The government has to broaden the base of its approach and include representatives of all stakeholders to ensure success for its initiatives but if it continues to operate in isolation from the mainstream of the farming sector and political opposition, the approach could prove self-defeating.