ISLAMABAD: Amid a dispute over water sharing between Sindh and Punjab provinces, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Acnec) on Wednesday approved three development projects worth Rs 270 billion, including the second phase of the Greater Thal Canal.
Acnec’s meeting chaired by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin also approved Rs 201.5 billion project for Karachi Circular Railway with private sector participation and Rs 30 billion for poverty reduction in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The meeting also approved an increase of 75 percent in the salary package of employees directly recruited under development projects on Project Pay Scale (PPS).
It also decided to appropriately allocate the total budget outlay in PSDP projects to conduct an effective media campaign to create awareness about the policies, projects and initiatives of the federal government aimed at socio-economic development and welfare of the people. took.
The meeting was attended by Energy Minister Hammad Azhar, Irrigation Department Punjab Minister Mohsin Leghari, Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission and senior officials of federal and provincial governments.
Green signal given to ‘controversial’ Greater Thal Canal
The meeting approved the development of the Greater Thal Canal Project (Phase-II). The Planning Ministry said it has finalized about half a dozen recommendations in a meeting with representatives of the Sindh and Punjab governments. The project was approved in-principle by Ecnec on December 22, 2021 at a cost of 38.372bn.
Acnec was informed that all the projects mentioned in the WAA can be implemented if water is allocated to the provinces in accordance with the principle laid down in Para-2 of the Water Division Agreement (WAA) of 1991. Since Para-2 of the agreement is not being implemented, due to water scarcity, Sindh claims that the construction of the Greater Thal Canal (GTC) could potentially exacerbate the water shortage in Sindh.
The Indus River System Authority (IRSA) again by majority vote certified the availability of certified water for the GTC in 2021. “Sufficient data provided by IRSA shows that there is sufficient water available within the system, which needs to be used by the provinces. on their part”, argued the planning ministry.
Keeping in view the importance of the water projects, Acnec approved the structure for setting up of a reliable monitoring mechanism simultaneously for the implementation of the GTC as well as to ensure that Punjab remains within its allotted share.
Secondly, pending the installation of the telemetry system, the Ministry of Water Resources, in collaboration with the Ministry of Science and Technology and its line agency, the Pakistan Council for Water Resources Research (PCRWR), will monitor the flow in Chashma-Taunsa. Guddu (including Panjnad) immediately reaches the river Indus. This will be done by deploying field teams that may include third parties until the telemetry instrumentation is fully operational and tested. IRSA will bear the cost of this monitoring mechanism.
Published in Dawn, March 17, 2022