Handing the new assignment to Wapda to remove complaints of provinces is no less than a cruel joke.
KARACHI: Federal Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif has recently given Wapda a new assignment to coordinate with and remove complaints of provinces facing water issues, by recognising the fact that prevailing differences among provinces are likely to have an adverse effect on national unity.
Three out of four provinces (i.e. Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) are worried about the assignment handed to Wapda, as Wapda has generally remained hostile towards these provinces for quite a long time. So much so that the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly had to pass a unanimous resolution to shift Wapda’s head office from the capital city of Punjab. Similarly, many complaints have been registered against the role of Wapda in Sindh in the Sindh Assembly from time to time.
Handing the new assignment to Wapda to remove complaints of provinces is no less than a cruel joke; it is tantamount to making the wolf the custodian of the sheep — this is being said in view of Wapda’s controversial role. Wapda has mostly provided wrong data about availability and release of water so that it can usurp a large quantity of water to benefit Punjab.
I hereby suggest to the federal minister not to bulldoze the Indus River Systems Authority which has been approved by Parliament in 1992. Instead, the minister must initiate serious action against Wapda authorities as they have deliberately provided incorrect statistics regarding the release and availability of water.
On behalf of the people of Sindh, I warn the bureaucrats belonging to Punjab and working in the Ministry of Water & Power to desist from these controversial activities immediately. Moreover, Wapda’s head office must be shifted from Lahore, its board must be reconstituted and there ought to be equal representation of all provinces for increased transparency in the allocation of water resources.
Mohammad Khan Sial
Published in The Express Tribune, July 15th, 2014.
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