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THE Council of Common Interests (CCI) while dousing interprovincial tensions over the planned Cholistan canal project, also underlined the need for a long-term solution to the use of water by all provinces, in line with the Water Apportionment Accord, 1991, and the National Water Policy, 2018. Had these two documents been embraced in letter and spirit, the recent tensions between Sindh and Punjab need not have occurred. The National Water Policy is an elaborate document that can be used to set the direction of projects in the water sector.
The policy emphatically calls for the implementation of the 1991 accord under the section on ‘Policy objectives’. Regrettably, the accord has been flagrantly violated for more than two decades as the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) resorted to the ingenuity of the three-tier formula since 2003.
The formula has no legal ground, yet it has practically dwarfed the legitimate Water Apportionment Accord. Sindh has already raised its concerns regarding the three-tier formula with the CCI, but the latter has brushed it under the carpet and Irsa continues to distribute water under this unauthorised regime by regularly declaring water shortages in the rivers.
Not only does this contravene the accord, it also defies a key planning principle of the water policy. Under the planning principles of the policy, clause 3.7.1 stipulates that decision-making on activities related to the water sector will be participatory and consultative at each level. This principle endorses a recent CCI decision on the canals project, in which consensus and mutual understanding have been set as the guiding principles for resolving all conflicts on water resources.
Endorsing the position of Sindh, the policy unambiguously recognises the rights of the lower riparian in the section on ‘Basin level planning for development of water resources’. Clause 5.2 of the water policy reads “the rights on sharing of water including the rights of lower riparian shall be scrupulously respected and followed in accordance with 1991 WAA [Water Apportionment Accord]”.
The National Water Policy can set the direction.
Sindh’s objections to the canals project were in line with this provision of the policy. Sindh is concerned that massive upstream diversion can deprive the province of its rightful share of water that has already been squeezed due to the three-tier formula. The principle of the priority right of the lower riparian on the Indus basin waters was also recognised in the 1945 water accord between Sindh and Punjab. The landmark accord was unfairly set aside after Partition and the deviation set in motion a series of breaches on the water rights of Sindh.
Conservation and efficiency are two important pillars of the policy. Under ‘Planning principles’, the policy reads “efficiency and conservation will be promoted at all levels”. Under strategic priority 3.1, the policy diagnoses the root causes of water scarcity, revealing over 50 per cent of canal water that is diverted from the Indus system does not reach the farm level. Clause 28.2 of the policy elaborates “of the 104.0 [million acre feet] of annual canal diversion, only 58.3 MAF reaches the farm-gate, while remaining 46.7 MAF seeps into the ground water”. As a remedy, it recommends a crash programme for lining the water courses to reduce seepage by at least one-third.
The policy sets a quantified target for 2030 to reduce 33 per cent of the 46 MAF river flows that are lost. Aligned with the same objective, clause 10.2 of the policy recommends a “more crop per drop” approach, and augmenting the efficiency of water use by at least 30pc by adopting water-efficient irrigation methods.
Echoing a key concern of Sindh, the policy also identifies sea intrusion as a major cause of degradation of the Indus delta. In clause 8.1.5, the menace of sea intrusion has been identified as the reason why coastal agriculture, mangroves and fisheries are adversely affected. Section 20.5 of the policy admits that seawater intrusion poses serious threats to coastal agriculture and about two million acres of land have already been lost to this danger in Thatta, Badin and Sujawal districts of coastal Sindh.
A frequently dismissed demand of environmental flows has been recognised in clause 6.1 of the policy. It aptly prescribes “environmental flows” to be “ensured in the rivers to maintain a sound environment for the conservation of the river ecology, morphology, delta and coastal ecosystem and fisheries”.
The policy provides a roadmap for prudently planning water as a shared resource and an asset for future generations. This can be made possible by sticking to the principle of fair distribution and collective ownership of our rivers.
The writer is a civil society professional.
Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2025
