Without removing the apprehensions of Indus River System Authority (Irsa) and concerned provinces, the federal government has decided to supply water from Ghazi-Barotha to Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
The government had recently approved the demand of Rawalpindi to lay a separate water supply line for the city from Ghazi-Barotha along with a supply line to the federal capital, which was approved earlier this year.
Sources said that different quarters, including Irsa, have expressed concerns that water from Indus was already running short to meet the irrigation requirements of Punjab, NWFP and Sindh, and its further distribution would aggravate the situation.
Sources said that through the proposed project, at least 500 mgd water would be supplied to the twin cities per day, which would affect the irrigation system in the provinces.
When contacted, a National Assembly member from Sindh termed it sheer violation of 1991 water accord, saying that there would be serious reaction from Sindh if the project materialised without its consent. The Authority should first go to Council of Common Interest (CCI) to change the water distribution formula agreed in 1991, he said.
Unfortunately, he said, such decisions of common interest are taken by one man outside the national and provincial assemblies, which would have serious repercussion. "There is no federation to satisfy the provinces by giving their equal share and rights that's why the federating unit is losing its strength day by day," he said.
A senior official in CDA said that the Authority has decided to include Rawalpindi in the project and the revised PC-1 for the combined project would be prepared within a week for presenting it in the next meeting of CDA Development Working Party for formal approval.
The official said that after preparing the new PC-1, it would be sent to Irsa and other concerned authorities for their comments. Islamabad is the federal capital and its water requirement is more urgent than other cities, which need to be fulfilled at all costs, he opined. Presently, the total demand for water of the federal capital is over 108 mgd against the available supply of 60 mgd.
The official further said that the new project would be carried out to meet the requirements of the two cities keeping in view their water needs during the next 50 years. After inclusion of Rawalpindi in the water project, the total project cost would be increased from Rs 30 billion to over Rs 45 billion and it would be met through Public Sector Development Program (PSDP), he added.