ISLAMABAD, April 27: The two-member inquiry committee constituted by the Sindh government to probe into the controversy of distribution of water downstream Kotri between Sindh and Punjab has obtained five years’ record of the Indus River System Authority (Irsa), including the minutes of April 9 advisory committee meeting.

Irsa sources said the committee, comprising former Sindh irrigation secretary Idrees Rajput and another former provincial official Ali Mohammad Baloch, held detailed meetings here on Saturday with the chairman and members of Irsa separately.

The sources said the committee was provided with the minutes of all the advisory committee meetings held over the last five years, including those of the April 9 meeting in which the Sindh government representatives agreed to share the “escaped water”.

The committee would now seek written replies from Mr Imtiaz Qazi and Mr Shuja Ahmad Junejo, the representatives of Sindh government who attended the April 9 meeting, as to why they agreed to share with Punjab the water projected for downstream Kotri and what was its background. The committee is required to submit its inquiry report to the Sindh government latest by April 30.

The minutes of the April 9 meeting provided to the inquiry committee quoted irrigation and power OSD Shuja Ahmad Junejo as proposing to share the additional water between Sindh and Punjab. The minutes said Mr Junejo “was of the view that the escaped water indicated in the working paper may be distributed between Punjab and Sindh but limited to their accord shares.”

The Sindh irrigation secretary was quoted as saying: “If he had correctly understood, then it means that additionality is being apportioned. Regarding distribution he agreed with the OSD I&P Sindh’s stance that it should be distributed on accord share.”

Through a notification on April 14, the Sindh chief secretary had constituted the inquiry committee to address five points. These points are: the stand taken by the representative of Sindh Irsa, impact of the decision by Irsa as a consequence of this stand, current Kharif irrigation supply requirement of Sindh, requirement of downstream Kotri under para 7 of the 1991 accord, and overall stand of Sindh in the water apportionment case.

Irsa had decided on April 9 to distribute water among the provinces on historic use basis while two million acre feet additional water for downstream Kotri projected in the working paper on accord basis.

The Sindh representatives had, however, denied to have agreed to share with Punjab the 2maf additional water meant for downstream Kotri later when the decision came under criticism in Sindh.