After very conveniently relegating its core responsibility and making the country sustain losses to the tune of hundreds of billions in its power wing operations of the last five years, Wapda’s management has adopted more nobler goals by taking up the resolve to help the President in his efforts to build the Kalabagh dam along with other water reservoirs.
The new duties have been adopted in a very deft way.We now see the Chairman of this white elephant advocating building of more dams as the panacea of all ills and the only salvation on the horizon. It is also given to understand that Wapda losses are only because Kalabagh dam could not be built earlier on. He, however, would surely not like us to dilate on Wapda’s ever-increasing losses and the last effort to woo the Sindhi detractors and the negative impact it had on the most laudable presidential efforts then.
Right on top of everything we see the Chairman informing all and sundry that Wapda has since proposed to convert the Kalabagh dam into a carry-over project that may not give rise to any canal, giving an impression that changing the design or parameters of any national project remains within the ambit of the Authority. As to whether these utterances are opportune or not is for the relevant ministry to gauge and take action. On the other hand is it not the sole purview of the relevant ministry to give such statements or the minister concerned has ceded his responsibilities to one of his many wards.
In the above very interesting background, it would be extremely correct to look into the Wapda Act of 1958 to know about the powers and duties of the Water and Power Development Authority. The Act of 1958 is clear, cogent and goes on to lay down what Wapda can do or cannot. Chapter 111 clause 8 of the WAPDA Act states that the Authority shall prepare, for the approval of the government, a comprehensive plan for the development and utilization of the water and power resources of Pakistan on a unified and multi-purpose basis.
Besides the above, it may also frame schemes for a province or any part thereof for irrigation, water supply and drainage; and recreational use of water resources. It can also, for the provinces frame schemes for the generation, transmission and distribution of power; and the construction, maintenance and operation of power houses and grids; flood control; the prevention of water logging and reclamation of water logged and salted lands; in land navigation; and the prevention of any ill effects on public health resulting from the operations of the Authority.
The Act, of 1958, very vividly states that all schemes prepared by Wapda shall be submitted for approval to the government which may sanction or refuse to sanction or may return for reconsideration any scheme submitted to it or may call for such further details or information about the scheme or may direct such further examinations of the scheme as it may consider necessary. All the above clearly stipulates that WAPDA remains clearly under the control of the government of Pakistan through the relevant ministry for water and power.
It is an attestation to the fact that Wapda has to submit yearly reports and returns and any other return, statement, estimate, statistics or other information regarding any matter under the control of the Authority; or a report on any such, matter; or copy of any document in the charge of the Authority. The Act in clause 21(3) further lays down that the Authority shall comply with every requisition made by the government. We further see that nowhere in this act the Wapda is ever required to develop a comprehensive media campaign or to launch strategy and any implementation plan for publicity of important events and core national issues relating to the power and the water related fields.
This patently remains the domain of the government of Pakistan and at the best Ministry for water and power and in extension it can be argued that the ministry of finance, and that of information too can have some control. In other words, whatever happens Wapda, or for that matter, any governmental organization, semi or fully autonomous, cannot ever be a policy making forum and nor can it be allowed to run media campaigns of its’ own. It can, however, off course run ads as a public duty, informing the people at large about various dangers to their lives etc.
After some how digesting Wapdas’s digression from its loss-making power wing obligations to the Vision-2025 and other water projects, it was extremely distressing to see this utility’s notice for expression of interest appearing in the country’s main-stream press. This notice was published for hiring consultancy services by Wapda for development and implementation of some untold as yet communication programme/media campaign for conservation of Pakistan’s water resource. Conservation of any resource and media campaign thereof, on the other hand, leads the reader to conclude that people are wasting that resource and now some body good and pious wishes them to conserve.
This is far from true because the people have nothing to do with conservation or nor they could ever be held responsible for any misuse. However, more insight into the notice for expression of interest reveals that Wapda has other intentions and in the process wishes to encroach upon the policy making role of government, which incidentally has no place whatsoever in the duties and obligations listed for it in the WAPDA Act of 1958 and also explained in the preceding paras.
The notice of expression of interest further informs every one that Wapda is implementing the national resource and hydropower development programme otherwise known as the Vision- 2025. That agriculture is the backbone of the economy of Pakistan and that this sector is the major user of water and its consumption will continue to dominate water requirements (as if no one knows about it). It further tells us that the major user of water for irrigation is the Indus Basin Irrigation System, from which 106 million acre feet (maf) out of 157 maf of surface water is being diverted annually for irrigation and an annual average of 39 maf escapes below Kotri. Then the notice proclaims that with increasing population, Pakistan is fast heading towards a situation of water shortage. And in this background harnessing of the country’s available water resources and development of big storage dams is a dire need of time. Wapda thus intends to develop (note emphasis on Wapda) and execute an effective media campaign with a view to develop(ing) support and building up national consensus for building big storage and reservoirs to conserve water for future needs of the country so as to attain national food security with ever increasing population.
Mere glance at this proves that Wapda has since decided to wear the mantle of the GOP- and thus its very own and lone intentions to develop and execute an effective media campaign. Delving a little more deep into the mindset of Wapda’s present management, we see that all this is not by way of extending help and support to the GOP specially the President in forging the needed national consensus, but is a blatant attempt to ward off any scrutiny of its continued inefficiency and mismanagement of the power wing operations and nothing else.
In fact Wapda through its latest ploy to build up the needed national consensus through some media campaign, which remains much away from its duties and areas of operations, is trying to hoodwink the government. In the process it is also encroaching upon the domain of the information and the water and power ministries. It in fact is not helping the President in his efforts to forge the desired national consensus and thus remains an inward looking and self-supporting effort. Some experts consider efforts by public servants and governmental organizations as a drag.
This is all the more so because water remains a bone of serious contention and has to be tackled in such a way that the federation becomes even more strong and no more controversies ever arise. By virtue of their offices, the President and the Prime Minister can opine, cajole and even force a particular section of the detractors but a public servant or a particular department would be simply going over board - specially when Wapda has unfortunately been always considered as an extension of the federal government and a nemesis by the provinces.
As such a media campaign by Wapda would lead to more problems than any advantage and can also result in enhancement of its present maverick behaviour. The government thus needs to check this deviation from Wapda’s core responsibility at the earliest, otherwise the pitfalls are obvious.