Islamabad: The Sindh Government has written a letter to the Caretaker Prime Minister in which concerns have been expressed regarding the issue of water NOC for Cholistan.
Caretaker Chief Minister Sindh Justice (Retd) Maqbool Baqer has written in a letter to Caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar that any decision that harms the interests of Sindh will be very difficult for any government in the future. So there are serious concerns about issuing water NOC.
Caretaker Chief Minister Sindh has said that Ursa had issued a report related to water on January 17, 2024. Punjab Irrigation Department in Islamabad proposed to issue NOC of water for the expansion of agriculture in small Cholistan. The proposed water transfer through canal project involves design of 4122 EFS, construction of feeder channel from Sulaimanki headworks to closure of feed areas of Bahawalnagar and Bahawalpur districts with a total command area of 696,651 acres and The cultivable command area is 610,237 acres.
The letter said that we have serious concerns over the issuance of NOC for water supply to small Cholistan, without sharing any information about it, the NOC was issued secretly and suddenly, under the water agreement, Punjab’s share was first. is more allocated to the existing canal system, during Kharif, Punjab has 37.7 MAF more use than the water contract of 37.07 MAF during 2007. is more than
The letter states that the availability of water as per para 4 of the Water Accord cannot be determined until the water under the Kotri Barrage is finalized as per para 7 of the agreement, hence the Water Accord 1991. Water cannot be supplied to the project under para 4, Punjab Government’s offer for the proposed project indicates water availability below Kotri Barrage for an average of 27.091 MAF during the years 1976-2022.
The Caretaker Chief Minister said that if we look at the data of the last 22 years from 2000-2022, the average water release rate of the tidal flow of Kotri Barrage has decreased to about 14.02 MAF, the trend of water shortage in the upstream mega water projects. Development and development of water projects on eastern rivers through India will continue with adverse impacts of climate change.
The Caretaker Chief Minister of Sindh has said that the issuance of NOC by Ursa has put the water rights of Sindh in serious danger. Issuing NOC is beyond the mandate of the caretaker government, any decision that harms the interests of Sindh will be very difficult for any future government.
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