The outgoing government has not focused on mega water reservoirs projects during its five-year term, despite several warnings from international and domestic experts that the country is heading towards becoming a water scarce country due to change in weather patterns across the globe.
Presently, Sindh and South Punjab are facing severe water shortage due to which early Kharif crops sowing is delayed and in Sindh growers are worried that they may not be able to sow crops.
Sindhi parliamentarians blame Punjab and point out that the two canals ie Chashma Jhelum (CJ) link canal and Trimmu Panjnad (TP) link canal are meant for flood control while Punjab insists that they are for providing drinking water to South Punjab. Sindh supports Diamer Basha dam because there is no canal.
"The principal reason for the opposition to Kalabagh dam by the smaller provinces is disrespect of Water Accord 1991," said Senator Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah who signed the Accord as Chief Minister Sindh.
The Council of Common Interests (CCI) recently reached an agreement that only surplus annual flows in the reservoirs will be conserved to augment the storage capacity. There was also a consensus that based on new realities of seawater and to conserve aquatic ecosystem, required environmental flows will be reassessed and assured so as to address the issues on long term basis.
The National Water Policy recognizes the need for the sector to receive at least 10 percent of Federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) gradually increasing it to 20 percent by 2030; and urges provincial governments to increase expenditure for the water sector as total allocation of Rs 145 billion, ie 7 percent of the combined federal and provincial development budget for 2017-18, is entirely inadequate.
Secretary Water Resources, Shumail Khawaja told Business Recorder that Rs 63.126 billion has been earmarked for 82 water sector projects against the throw forward of Rs 998.356 billion.
In reply to a question, he said, total allocation for hydropower projects is Rs 137 billion including from Wapda's own resources for 19 projects.
Answering another question, Secretary Water Resources said that federal government has allocated an amount of Rs 23.68 billion from its own resources for Diamer Basha Dam besides Rs 2 billion for Mohmand Dam.
An official said the existing water storage capacity of 14 MAF must be increased by immediately starting construction of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam Project with 6.4 MAF live storage capacity on which a consensus of all the federating units was achieved in 2009 at Council of Common Interest level; Mohmand Dam with live capacity of 0.676 MAF and other countrywide small and medium dams being built will have a cumulative live storage capacity of at least 2 MAF, in the next 12 years ie up to year 2030;
He further stated that the centre and provinces have also agreed that in order to augment the dwindling irrigation deliveries into the existing canal systems on account of ever decreasing existing storage capacity of Mangla and Tarbela due to sedimentation and to develop new cultivated area on canal irrigated water, the existing water storage capacity of 14 MAF shall be increased by immediately by starting construction of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam project. The existing water storage capacity is projected to increase by up to 10 MAF, he added, including Diamer-Basha Dam.