Water disputes
ATER shortages for the Kharif crop are growing. So
W are tensions between Punjab and Sindh. The national
shortages for the summer crops are now estimated to have
jumped from earlier projections of 10pc to nearly 30pc with the
drop in temperature in the catchment areas. This is forcing Irsa, the
sole arbiter of water disputes under the 1991 Water Apportionment
Accord, to release water from Mangla for Sindh’s cotton crop as
the provincial government accused Irsa and Punjab of cutting its
water share. Punjab is unhappy with Irsa’s move, arguing that the
failure to fill the reservoir could augment water scarcity for both
Kharif and Rabi crops in the province. It says Irsa should adjust
water distribution among the provinces in accordance with the
new estimates of shortages and available river inflows. Besides,
Punjab has accused Sindh of underreporting water availability for
irrigation in that province,
This is not the first time the two Provinces are bickering over
how to share water. Accusations have been flying around for more
than a centu 9 ted to help bridge
interprovincial tensions, But it hasn’t, Sindh stills feels aggrieved
because the accord didn’t guarantee a minimum environmental
flow of river water through the province into the
that the construction of dams upstream would strip it of its share of
water. The accord allocates water to provinces on the basis of ther.
historical use. Its ambiguous wording also allows different people to
interpret it differently. For example, the accord assumes availability
of 117.35 MAF of water in the Indus Basin system for distribution,
reality, this exact quantity was never available nor will it ever
be. Therefore, Irsa has been distributing water shortages for the
last 30 years, with Sindh demanding its share on the basis of the
assumed availability of water. Consequently, the provinces have
been accusing each other of stealing water and Irsa is blaming them
for misreporting. Likewise, the accord Suggests that provinces with
water storage capacity will have a prior right to surpluses, which ic a
big concern for Sindh and hence its opposition to large reservoirs
Pakistan’s water stress is projected to increase in the next few years.
Climate change resulting in prolonged droughts in some regions like
Balochistan, erratic weather patterns, frequent flooding, a shrinking
winter season and heatwaves in cities like Karachi is aggravating
the situation. Dams may be important to trap floodwaters for future
use in years of scarcity, But they are not the solution to our stressed
water economy. Pakistan remains one of the top three water-intensive
countries in the world. This means we can overcome water shortages
significantly by conserving this depleting resource through reduction
in its wasteful use, especially by farmers, who are the largest users
of water. Additionally, the water accord needs to be renegotiated to
secure the independent buy-in of all provinces,