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Water Accord
interpretation can't be changed
LAHORE. The
interpretation of Water Accord 1991 cannot be changed due to
the fact that Section 14-B of the accord clearly indicates
water sharing among the provinces according to the historic
shares, as actual available water is far below the 114 million
acre feet (MAF).
This was said by a
senior official of Punjab Irrigation Department as his 'first
reaction' with regard to the recent decision of Ministry of
Water and Power about dismissing the settlement of ministerial
committee of 1994. He said that Section 14-b of the Water
Accord 1991 was still part of the accord, subsequently the
water-sharing status would remain the same.
"We still did not
receive the letter of the federal ministry," he said adding
that the department would evolve future strategy after
reviewing the legal implications of ministry's decision.
He said that the
department could contact Council of Common Interests (CCI) for
resolving the matter as Federal Law Division had concluded
that the council was an authorised forum to resolve such
issues.
The official said
that the decision of 1994 was adopted by the Indus River
System Authority (Irsa) with the majority of 2-3 votes in
1994, which, according to rules and regulations, is now part
of IRSA constitution. He claimed that Irsa could not revoke
its decisions under the constitution of the authority. "Only
CCI is the suitable platform for resolving the issue," he
believed.
He said that
Punjab had frequently conveyed its point of view to the
federal government stating that as due to non-construction of
water reservoirs only 103 MAF water was available for
allocation, the clause 14-B of the Water Accord should be
followed, under which water is distributed on the basis of
historical availability of water (average inflow of 1977-82).
It also submitted
that in the Accord, 114 MAF were calculated on the basis of
constructing multi-purpose dams at feasible site which was the
spirit of the accord. No dam could be constructed, therefore,
the water availability was reduced to 103 MAF. He said that
under the Water Accord, the Punjab agreed 18 per cent
additional Kharif supplies for Sindh while receiving 8 per
cent for itself.
Sindh had raised
questions about the authenticity of decision taken by the
Ministerial Committee, stating that water allocations should
be made on the basis of 14-A clause of Water Accord, keeping
in view the 114 MAF water available under the Water Accord of
1991.
It is pertinent to
mention that Punjab will lose 11 per cent share, compared to
its present allocations, if the decision of Ministerial
Committee is rejected while Sindh share would be increased by
2 per cent.
It may be noted
that in this connection, all four provinces met on June 7,
2001 in federal capital to examine the water allocation
formula while reinterpreting the clauses of Water Accord 1991,
which was already decided by a Ministerial Committee in 1994
and adopted by Irsa. The meeting reviewed whether to make
water allocation in accordance with 114 MAF standard or on the
basis of historical water share. The meeting, chaired by
Federal Water and Power Secretary and participated by four
provincial Irrigation Secretaries, Chairman IRSA and all the
members of the authority.
July 6
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