ISLAMABAD, Sept 26: The technical committee on water resources led by ANG Abbasi will hold its two-day meeting on Sept 27 and 28, to decide whether to submit a consolidated report or separate reports on various issues.
The meeting to be presided over by committee chairman ANG Abbasi, would be attended by its members, senior officials of the power ministry, planning commission, Wapda, Chief Engineering Organisation and Indus River System Authority (Irsa).
Informed sources told Dawn that the committee on Sept 27 would consider additional data on water availability the committee sought in its September 4 meeting from Wapda and the Planning Commission.
On Sept 28, the committee would decide whether to prepare separate reports on different aspects of its terms of reference (ToR) or a single consolidated report for submission to the federal government.
The sources say that some members are of the view that the committee should start submitting its reports to the government on an issue-to-issue basis when these become ready.
They argue that the body should submit the report on overall water availability to the government soon after its meeting so that the government could start its working.
They said the reports on every subject of the TOR like water distribution, reservoir construction, canal water withdrawal and other issues should reach the government in different steps.
On the other hand some members of the committee believed that the committee should submit a consolidated report covering all aspects of the ToR so that its attention is not diverted to objections and counter claims.
Another view, which has the support of ANG Abbasi, is that the committee should also consult provincial governments and other stakeholders on every aspect of the ToR so that a consolidated report is finalized which contained maximum input from all quarters.
In its second meeting on Sept 4, the committee had asked Wapda and the Planning Commission to come up with revised figures on water availability, following objections raised by some of the participants about the data presented by the two organizations.