LAHORE, Feb 20: The Punjab Water Council has resented the additional terms of reference and extra perks for head of the technical committee on water resources.

At a meeting convened to review a notification of the ministry of water and power granting the head of technical committee status of a minister, assigning more tasks to the committee and extending its life from six months to one year, the PWC claimed that these steps would hinder the working of the committee which was already behind schedule.

It had never met since its formation on Nov 15. Instead of being taken to task, the head of committee had been granted the status of a minister, the PWC said.

According to the original notification, the committee was supposed to review issues related to distribution of water according to the 1991 Water Accord, submit recommendations for streamlining water distribution among the provinces, assess the need for constructing dams for future requirements, prioritize construction of dams, review the progress of a study on escapades and examine the filling criteria of Mangla Dam.

The committee was supposed to finish the work in six months and submit its report by June 2004, when the government hoped to take the final decision on construction of a dam.

The ministry has now assigned more tasks to the committee. It has asked the committee to determine the water availability for future reservoirs and irrigation schemes and examine the operation of link canals and future reservoirs.

The PWC claimed that the operational criteria for link canals was part of the Indus Basin Water Treaty and could not be reviewed or changed. It was tantamount to reopening settled issues and would only add to the complexity of water issues.

The council said that the chairman of technical committee had been a staunch opposer of new dams. Now, it seems, he is trying to raise more controversial issues and make the final solution still more difficult. Like link canals' operation, availability of water for dams and irrigation schemes was a settled issue under the 1991 Water Accord.

The committee, the PWC demanded, must be restricted to the agenda outlined by the president. The PWC appealed to the president to intervene in the matter and set things right so that a positive outcome could be ensured.