ISLAMABAD, July 15: Wapda has informed the president's secretariat that 57 per cent 'structures' of the Rs30.4 billion Greater Thal Canal Project have been completed and, under a revised schedule , the canal is expected to be fully operational by June 30, 2007.
However, official sources told Dawn on Thursday that Wapda authorities had been directed to complete the project ahead of schedule in order to provide irrigation water to 1.53 million acres of land in Bhakkar, Layyah, Khushab and Jhang districts from the surplus flood supplies of the River Indus.
Sindh has been opposing the Greater Thal Canal Project because it was not included in the 1991 Water Accord. The province also believes that the project would deprive it of its genuine share of water.
Representatives of the Sindh government on the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) had resisted the certification of the project, which was inaugurated by President Pervez Musharraf on August 16, 2001.
The sources said the Sindh government was not opposing the project as vehemently now as it did earlier. "There are some verbal objections but the Sindh government has not officially taken up the matter for the last many months," a source claimed.
Wapda has also informed the president's secretariat that 88 per cent of 'earth work' and 17 per cent 'lining' of the project have already been completed. The project stipulates construction of a 35-km lined main canal, 342-km lined branch canals and 1,835-km distributaries and minors, including construction of allied structures.
Wapda has also informed the secretariat that so far Rs1.9 billion has been spent on the project. Similarly, the president's office was told the Mangla Dam Raising Project was expected to be completed by June 30, 2007, at a cost of Rs62.6 billion, including a foreign financing of Rs9.6 billion.
The project, in the Mirpur district of Azad Kashmir, envisages regaining the reservoir capacity lost due to sedimentation and minimizing conservation of flood discharge, thereby enhancing irrigation releases.
Under the project, the dam would be raised by 30 feet. So far, Wapda has spent Rs2 billion since work started on the project on July 1, 2001. Wapda has also apprised the president's secretariat of the progress made on the Rs31.2 billion Kachhi Canal Project.
It said that the project would be completed by June 2007 and irrigate 713,000 acres of land in D.G. Khan and Rajanpur in Punjab and Dera Bugti, Nasirabad and Jhal Magsi in Balochistan. Up to now, a little over Rs1 billion has been spent on the scheme.
The Raniee Canal Project, which is expected to cost Rs18.8 billion, will be completed by December 2007 to provide seasonal irrigation supplies of 5,155 cusecs to 4,12,400 acres in the Raniee Track of Nara region for agriculture and lakes.
The project envisages construction of the main canal, 107-mile-long branches, and 331-mile-long distributaries, minor and allied structures. Wapda has so far spent Rs383.8 million on the scheme.