Theft with impunity: No action over assault on irrigation officers

CMIT’s report on the incident was sent back with a ‘received with thanks’.

LAHORE:

An executive engineer and a sub-divisional officer were detained and roughed up by some members of the Farmers’ Organisation (FO) and their accomplices in Bahawalnagar on June 8. A report submitted by the Chief Minister’s Inspection Team (CMIT) was sent back last week with a nondescript ‘chief minister has seen, thanks’, The Express Tribune has learnt. 

XEN Aslam Mustafa, SDO Malik Arshad Hayat and dozens of irrigation officials had gone to Dharianwala area, Fort Abbas at RD-128, upon receiving a complaint that 12 outlets had been tampered with to draw excessive discharge.

The CMIT enquiry report states that Area Water Board Vice Chairman Ghulam Murtaza, FO President Noor Ahmed, FO Vice President Bashir Ahmed and their accomplices had roughed up the officials and detained them. The official vehicle was also damaged. A case was registered by the police against eight people.

The chief minister had taken notice of the incident and directed the CMIT to submit a report on the incident so that ‘exemplary punishment’ could be ensured and a strong message sent to water pilferers.

The CMIT report concluded that the FO had failed to perform its functions and was guilty of tampering with water outlets, and should therefore be terminated. It stated that the farmers who had been using water from the tampered sources should be disqualified from participation in future FO elections. Proceedings should be finalised to recover fines from beneficiaries of the tampered outlets. The report stated that water theft control committees should be activated and made effective for prompt action.

The CMIT recommended that a senior police officer be deployed to investigate the incident.

Last week, the chief minister’s secretariat sent a reply on the report suggesting that no action would be taken.

A senior official from the CM’s Secretariat speaking on condition of anonymity said that it was the chief minister’s prerogative to agree or disagree with the findings of the CMIT. “In this case, the CM disagreed and said ‘thank you’,” he said.

A senior irrigation official said that the men accused of the attack had backing from a National Assembly member and a Provincial Assembly member from Bahawalnagar. He said that the CMIT’s report had been shelved and nothing would come of it.

An Irrigation Department spokesman said that strict action would be taken against those involved in the attack. The Project Management and Policy Implementation Unit monitored canal operations and theft daily, he said. “We carry out a proper follow up in theft cases. The FO has been told to create a sense of responsibility and collective ownership of water among farmers to prevent theft of water,” he said.

XEN Mustafa told The Express Tribune that he had not received the CMIT’s report and could not comment on it, “They [accused] had used force against us,” he said. SDO Hayat hadn’t received the report either.

Of the 38,338 cases of water theft reported by Irrigation Department and Farmers Organisation in 2013, police have only registered 4,514. According to an Irrigation Department report, several lawmakers patronise water theft in south Punjab. Several irrigation officials had been kidnapped or beaten up in this regard, it said.

The situation is worst in south Punjab, the report states. Till August, police had registered 1,004 cases from 11,973 complaints filed in Bahawalpur. Of 6,722 complaints filed in Lahore, police registered 856 cases. Of 5,719 complaints filed from Multan, police registered 164 cases. Police registered 668 cases of 5,662 complaints filed in Dera Ghazi Khan. 725 cases were registered out of 4,453 complaints in Faisalabad. In Sargodha, 2,317 cases were reported, of which 1,008 were registered by the police. A total 1,492 cases were reported in Sahiwal, but the police registered only 116 cases.

Only 783 people were arrested for water theft.

Punjab government spokesman Amjad Bhatti said that the CMIT recommendations were general and inconclusive.

The chief minister does not need to take action because the Irrigation Department and FO have already been empowered to stop water theft, he said. Police have registered an FIR on the attack, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 27^th, 2013.