Senate panel concerned over river encroachment

The Senate Standing Committee on Water Resources on Tuesday expressed serious concerns over the lack of details regarding encroachments along riversides and waterways.

Officials informed the committee that, according to data provided by SUPARCO, major encroachments in Punjab had not been removed after August 2024. A report submitted by SUPARCO in February 2025 identified 153 encroachments in the Sargodha Irrigation Zone and 676 in the Multan Irrigation Zone.

A representative of the FFC claimed that all encroachments had been cleared before August 2024 but failed to provide data to substantiate this claim.