HYDERABAD, April 28: The Hyderabad District Council has condemned the decision of the Indus River System Authority to distribute water on the historical use basis and as per decision of the federal ministerial committee taken in 1994.

Three identical resolutions on the water issue, unanimously adopted at the monthly session of the council on Monday, called upon Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali to ensure fair water distribution among the provinces in accordance with the 1991 Water Accord.

The resolutions were moved by Syed Miran Mohammad Shah, Qazi Abdul Qadeer and Mohammad Yousuf Qureshi.

They criticized representatives of Sindh in Irsa for their failure to protect interests of the province.

Mr Shah said the decision was taken at a time when the Sindh Assembly, the prime minister and the president had promised distribution of water under the water accord of 1991.

He observed that Sindh was facing water shortage for the last several years but plans were still being made to share water, meant for Kotri downstream areas, with Punjab.

He said there would be no water in the province even for drinking purposes if the situation persisted.

About Sindh’s rights on water, Mr Qadeer said as per clause 14 of the 1991 accord, 10 million acre feet water was to be released at Kotri for downstream areas.

He said the minutes of the Irsa meeting were tampered with. The Sindh government had protested over the issue in three letters sent to the federal government in May, July and August 1994. The federal government had upheld arguments of Sindh and withdrawn the minutes, he added.

He said on Nov 12, 2001, President Gen Pervez Musharraf had also given an assurance that water would be distributed according to the water accord.

The council member said Irsa, under its constitution, was bound to implement the accord.

He observed that the non-release of water Kotri downstream would lead to sea intrusion.

Mr Qureshi said Irsa should rescind its decision to distribute water on the historical use basis and honour its earlier decisions.

He said Sindh had agreed to discharge of 10 MAF water Kotri downstream although a study supported the discharge of 35 MAF water. According to the study, he further said, the non-release of water below Kotri would destroy the Indus Delta.

He said fish farms had disappeared and underground water was getting brackish.

Mr Qureshi said the recent decision of Irsa would first hit the Hyderabad district as the agricultural economy of the district mostly depended on the availability of water at Kotri downstream.

He urged parliamentarians to ensure discharge of 10 MAF water below Kotri and implementation of the 1991 Water Accord.