Non-provision of accommodation, other facilities: post of member Sindh in Irsa remains vacant for over three months

Due to non-provision of residence and other facilities to member of Sindh in Indus River System Authority (Irsa) in Islamabad, the post remained vacant for well over three-month since February 8, 2011, as nobody was willing to be member of Sindh in the authority due to lack of facilities, reliable sources in Irrigation Department told Business Recorder here on Saturday.
Irsa is a federal body, which has five members, one each from the four provinces and a member from the centre. The authority work out water distribution formula among provinces according to 1991 Water Accord. The tenure of every member is three years and chairman of the authority is elected from the members on rotation basis for one year.
The post of member Irsa is equal to Grade 21 and he is provided the salary of the said grade which is about one lac or so, one car with limited fuel and a single room office in Irsa's head office. The governments of Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have provided residence and other facilities to their members in IRSA in Islamabad on their own but Sindh government has not provided such facilities to its member, sources said.
Since the establishment of Irsa in 1992, no member of Sindh has been happy with his only-salary job because Islamabad is very costly city to reside in. A former member of Sindh in Irsa told Business Recorder that monthly rent of a normal family house in Islamabad is 25,000 to 40,000, so how a member drawing just one lakh salary could run its family kitchen and how he will bear other expenses including utility bills and school fees of children. Sources said that due to this, no body was willing to be Sindh's member in Irsa and after the completion of Khan Mohammad Memon's tenure on February 2011, the very important post remained vacant. During the period, the monthly meetings of Irsa were held without Sindh's member, the sources added.
Recently, Additional Secretary, Irrigation Department, Syed Mazhar Ali Shah has willingly offered his services and his notification as member of Sindh in Irsa was issued on May 25 by the Federal Ministry of Water and Power. Syed Mazhar Ali Shah joined Irrigation Department in 1976 as Assistant Executive Engineer after passing Sindh Public Service Commission's exam. He has 35-year experience and is know as an expert in water issues.
Shah is first ever regular officer of Irrigation department, who has been appointed as member Irsa from Sindh in the 19-year history of the authority. When contacted, Mazhar Ali Shah, who will join his new assuagement within next couple of days, told Business Recorder that he was happy with his new assignment and would do his best for efficient discharge of his duties as member Irsa. When Chief Secretary Sindh Abdul Subhan Memon was contacted he said Sindh government was aware of the problems of its member in IRSA. "That is why I have decided Mazhar Ali Shah will stay in my room in Sindh House, Islamabad, until he is provided accommodation by the government," he added.