Water distribution among co-sharer provinces

Water Accord is a document signed in 1991 with consensus by all the provinces. In the light of the accepted water distributional principles the following apportionment was agreed to: Accord lays down the apportionment of water amongst the provinces and the principles for sharing of water in times of shortages and surplus.
Para 2 of the Accord provides the seasonal allocation (Kharif/Rabi) to the provinces. Para 14, along with the agreed ten daily statements (an integral part of the Accord) stipulate the day-to-day regulation and the procedure for sharing of shortages and surpluses. Para 14 (b) of the Accord provides guidelines and a basis for working at ten-daily allocations of the different canal systems.
Just six months after the Accord was signed, Council of Common Interests (CCI) held its meeting on September 16, 1991 to decide 10-day average system-wise season-wise allocation for the provinces.
In this meeting Punjab expressed the view that it would not be appropriate to take any one clause of the Accord in isolation and that the ten-daily system-wise allocation by provinces should not be taken in isolation without protecting the existing uses and deciding on future storages, to which the Government of Sindh expressed the view that providing data on 10 daily average allocations on system-wise basis was an integral part of the Accord.
It would not be appropriate to link other issues such as development of future storages etc with the provisions of the Accord. In response to Punjab's objections and Sindh's concerns, the CCI in above meeting authorised 10-day seasonal system-wise adjusted allocations (excluding flood flows and future storage) provided by the provinces to become part and parcel of the Water Accord. Punjab suggested that till the storages are constructed their existing uses should be protected.
The CCI did not agree with the view of Punjab that existing sharing arrangement had to continue during deficit periods in the absence of construction of storages. This is clear from the fact that CCI approved one set of ten daily statement which forms the basis for distribution in the events of surpluses and shortages, otherwise separate set of ten-daily statements should have been approved for sharing shortages during deficit periods as proposed by Punjab.
1994 INTER-PROVINCIAL MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE In May 1994, the then Minister for Water and Power Ghulam Mustafa Khar held a meeting of Inter-Provincial Ministerial Committee in which the matters relating to the distribution of water were discussed. Punjab brought in ex-agenda working paper before the Ministerial Committee in which Punjab proposed to share shortages of water between Sindh and Punjab on the basis of 1977-82 average uses (historic uses).
The proposal was bitterly opposed by the representatives of Sindh as it was found to be violative of the Water Accord and against the CCI decision. Surprisingly, in the minutes, it was stated that Sindh had agreed with Punjab's proposal. In response to wrongly recorded minutes the then Member IRSA the late Abdul Rasul Memon in his letter addressed to Secretary Water and Power wrote:
"We would be sowing the seeds of discord on Water Accord if we include such controversial version as part of consensus in such a high-level meeting. God is Great." The Secretary Irrigation and Power, Government of Sindh in his faxed letter dated May 15, 1994 addressed to Secretary Ministry of Water and Power fully endorsed the views of A.R. Memon and requested that "the Para 6 (3) may kindly be deleted from the minutes of resume of the Inter-Provincial Ministerial Meeting held on May 12, 1994". Para 6(3) is reproduced below:
The shortages between Sindh and Punjab will be shared according to the historic uses". In response, the Special Secretary Ministry of Water and Power in his letter dated, May 10, 1994 addressed to Chairman IRSA could not and did not defend the wrongly recorded minutes but wrote: As you are aware, IRSA is vested with full authority under the Act for resolving inter-provincial issues.
The Inter-Provincial Ministerial Committee on water is of an advisory nature and without any legal mandate. The committee is primarily to assist IRSA in attempting a consensus on major issues through Spirit of good will and co-operation. All decisions on controversial matters are ultimately the responsibility of IRSA to ensure fair and equitable distribution of water among the provinces."
In his presentation to the Technical Committee, the Chairman, IRSA, stated that a decision was taken by IRSA by file circulation that the 'historic use formula' should be followed for sharing shortages. However, the copies of record supplied by him indicate that file was moved to and fro for over two years from 1994 to 1996 and after that the decision recorded by then Chairman IRSA by majority decision of 3-2 was not for adopting historic use formula, but for water distribution under the provision of Water Accord.
Moreover, the 'historic use formula' was not used for water distribution till Kharif, 1999. However, in Rabi 1999, IRSA arbitrarily enforced the recalled decision of 1994 to which Sindh government vehemently opposed and the matter was referred by the Chairman IRSA to the Secretary Water and Power on May 30, 2000. IRSA refereed the mater to Law Division for interpretation of Clause 14, of Water Accord, who advised on 16-10-2000 that the interpretation of sharing shortage on the basis of historic uses shall be a violation of the Water Accord and the Constitution.
Further, Para 2 of this advice of the Law Division says: "However, since the matter has not been refereed to the appropriate body ie CCI by the aggrieved party therefore, the existing arrangements as decided by the IRSA, may be allowed to continue till the composition and decision of the CCI".
In this regard, the Chief Executive issued instructions to IRSA on 23-10-2000 that Ministerial Water Accord of 1994 to be annulled. IRSA issued the annulment notification according to the directives of Chief Executive after one year. However, IRSA neither acted on the advice of Law Division, nor on the instructions of the Chief Executive even after the issuance of issue of annulment notification.
The opinion of Law Division dated 16-10-2000 and said directive of the Chief Executive Secretariat dated 23-10-2000 were placed before the then Law Minister who approved the proposal that Para 2 of the advice of the Law Division dated 16-10-2000 be recalled and consequently this Division issued a revised note on 16-02-2001 in these words:
"In view of the said Directive, regarding apportionment of Water of Indus River System the Ministerial award of 1994 is annulled and the Accord of 1991 has to be implemented, the opinion already conveyed by this Division on 16-10-2000 is revised and para 2 there of is accordingly recalled". According to the second advice of Law Division, Para 2 of their first advice regarding reference to CCI has been recalled and therefore Para 1 of the advice of Law Division holds.
As per the data published by IRSA the examination of Kharif distribution of Water for the period between 1991 and 2008 clearly indicates that Punjab has drawn 18.748 MAF more water than its due share according to Water Accord.
Consequently Sindh has drawn 18.748 MAF less water than their due share as per Accord. During Kharif 2009 Punjab has actually drawn 34.572 MAF against Water Accord sharing of 33.385 MAF and Sindh had drawn 29.538 MAF against their Accord share of 30.572 MAF. Could this still be called a fair distribution of water?
The lobby which is propagating that water is being distributed as per 1991 Accord right from its commencement, my pose a question to them: "If it is so, then why the ex agenda item was brought by Punjab in Inter-Provincial Ministerial Committee in May 1994 headed by the then Minister Ghulam Murtaza Khar for distribution of water under 77-82 historic uses?"
From the historical events narrated earlier and the advice of the Law Division Government of Pakistan, It is abundantly clear that shortages must be shared by the Co-sharer provinces strictly in accordance with the ten-daily water allocations attached with the 1991 Water Accord.

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Fig in MAF (Million Acre Feet)

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PROVINCE                         KHARIF         RABI        TOTAL

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Punjab                            37.07        18.87        55.94

Sindh*                            33.94        14.82        48.76

NWFP (a)                           3.48         2.30         5.78

     (b) Civil Canals**            1.80         1.20         3.00

Balochistan                        2.85         1.02         3.87

                                  77.34        37.01       114.35

                                      +            +            +

                                   1.80         1.20         3.00

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