KARACHI, March 7 : A vast majority of the provincial legislators believe that the Sindh Assembly’s unanimous resolution against the controversial Thal canal is to the advantage of the federal government as it gives her enough time to present the lower riperian province with a fiat accompli.

Sources said that they were planning steps that would compel the federal government to stop work on the project and in this context moves in the National Assembly were also being contemplated by the opposition.

On Feb 28 the Sindh Assembly had unanimously adopted a resolution , jointly moved by leader of the opposition Nisar Khuhro and senior minister Syed Sardar Ahmad, through which the House had opposed construction of the Greater Thal Canal, which is believed to be going on at a rapid pace.

The opposition which had requisitioned the session was lured into a trap by the treasury benches on the offer of moving a joint session, which in effect had thwarted the opposition’s bid to force the government to make a categorical statement.

The trap for the opposition was set in the wordings of the resolution, in whose formulation not only the opposition and the treasury benches played their part, but the chair was also seen providing the necessary expertise.

The trick was in recommending to the government of Sindh to “make a complaint to the CCI under Article 155(1) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan against the construction of the Greater Thal Canal” and to request the federal government to stop the construction of the canal “as the province of Sindh has legitimate grievances which need to be redressed.”

Those who felt the urgency of the matter apprehend that the federal government would sit tight over the issue as it had so far done over the NFC and water accord issue.

The opposition exposed the foul play of the federal government and the upper riparian province to the hilt, with remarkable facts and figures from either side, but it could not push beyond that. Perhaps the government’s aim was also just that. Otherwise it would not have included the issue on the agenda of the requestioned position.

“We will have to take the issue to the people of Punjab to impress upon them and the federal government to stop the construction of the project which has been the bone of contention between Sindh and Punjab since the early days of the twentieth century,” said a People’s Party Parliamentarian’s MPA.

He believed that merely passing of a resolution was not enough to protect the interests of Sindh, because those concerned with the project were working day and night to complete it.

The opposition legislators were of the view that if the federal government was serious in protecting the interests of Sindh, it would take remedial measures

According to a report filed by a foreign-based NGO “ the distribution canals were either too high or too low. Where the canals were too high, this posed a danger of flooding and breaches in the canal are likely to happen and which have happened. Where the distribution canals were too low, there were not enough provisions to bring water up and distribute it to the fields. Due to this inadequacy people themselves have to buy their own peter machines. However, such initiatives by the people are prohibited by the government.”

The drains have not been properly designed to ensure that hill torrents for which the drains are constructed, will flow into the drains.

Some of the canals were arbitrarily stopped before reaching the drains or the river thus flooding a large area causing damage to homes and crops. It was also discovered by the NGO that some of the protective embankments were not properly designed.

It has been maintained by the experts that a large number of people, those who subsist on livestock will eventually be adversely affected by the project.

The PPP legislators were considering options to compel the government to pay heed to the lower riparian province’s grievances and immediately stop work on the project for which there was no allocation in the 1991 water accord.

The various NGOs operating in Sindh have also reported that owing to lack of flow of water downstream Indus, the sea is making inroads and a vast area has been converted into desert. The Thal canal being constructed without the approval of ECNEC will further aggravate the situation.

During the debate it has also become apparent how official records have been played with to deny rights to Sindh.