LAHORE, Oct 10: Water distribution in the country should be based on agricultural production and cultivated land rather than the provincial shares decided to suit a federal concept of government, a Punjab Water Council meeting held here on Wednesday demanded.

It said there was a direct natural link between water available in the country and the soil. Making it subject to federal distribution was a defiance of the nature.

The Punjab contributes almost 80 per cent of the country’s agricultural produce but is getting only 37 per cent of the water. The remaining three provinces, put together, contribute only 20 per cent of the produce and consume 63 per cent of the water.

Distribution of water according to provincial sentiments may be politically expedient but hardly makes sense in the context of national interest, the PWC added. The government, it said, must review its distribution policy and tailor it according to the demands of “natural justice”.

Participants of the meeting said the Punjab also had more cultivable land than all other provinces put together. The government’s insistence on distributing water according to its present policy, it added, could cost the country its vital self-sufficiency in food.

The Indus River System Authority and the government, the PWC resolved, must ensure that water was distributed according to requirements of the land.

The PWC noted that the rotating chairmanship of the Irsa was going to the province of Sindh from 16th of this month. This would effectively give the province three votes at a crucial time. A Council member explained that Sindh had a vote like the other provinces, the federal member, too, was from Sindh and the chairman would have the casting vote in case of a tie. This, he said, would give Sindh a disproportionate say in Irsa’s future decisions. Considering the severe shortage of irrigation water this year, the situation was likely to be politically charged and the government must be prepared for it, he warned.

The PWC said the government could defuse the situation by doing away with the federal representative’s vote in the Irsa. Since the federal area has no direct stakes in river water distribution, there is hardly a justification for it.

The PWC regretted that the provincial canals had been closed at a time when all major Kharif crops were at the maturing stage. It questioned priorities of the Agriculture and Irrigation Departments and their decision making process. It pointed out that no input had been sought from the farmers.

The Council said in some areas cotton crop was under great stress as a result of 10 to 13 pesticide sprays and needed water. It said the Kharif crop in the Punjab had suffered a 22 per cent water shortage and 15 per cent in Sindh.