ISLAMABAD: Lawmakers from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Monday upped the ante against a plan to amend the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) Act of 1992, saying that it would lead to inter-provincial disharmony and weaken the federation.

Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur recalled that a similar attempt was made through promulgation of Irsa Ordinance by the interim government, but the president did not sign the document. Deputy Speaker Ghulam Mustafa Shah, who also belongs to PPP, allowed four party MNAs to speak on the issue at the request of Syed Naveed Qamar.

Mr Talpur said that according to the planned legislation, the PM would appoint the Irsa chairman with a special secretary and a technical committee under their supervision would monitor the distribution of water.

Matter referred to standing committee; Sherry moves calling attention notice in Senate

“The whole exercise will be done under supervision of a bureaucrat,” he said.

He questioned why the Irsa law was being amended when the 1991 water accord exists. “We will not accept any attempt to rob us of our water share,” he said.

Shabbir Bijarani said it had been decided that the Irsa chairman would be appointed from amongst the members representing the provinces, on a rotational basis.

“This is a very serious issue and you cannot touch this matter without the Council of Common Intere­sts (CCI),” the PPP lawmaker said.

He said that farmers from Sindh had concerns over how 800,0000 acres of land under the Cholistan Command area project would be irrigated, saying that this would devastate agricultural land in Sindh.

Nawab Yousuf Talpur was also of the view that no water should be diverted to any new land without the consent of Sindh, particularly when there is shortage of water.

The veteran politician asked how the 4.8 million acres in Cholistan would be irrigated when no additional water was available, adding that Irsa was an independent body and it should not be made the subject of controversial legislation.

On the suggestion of Information Minis­ter Atta Tarar, the chair referred the matter to the standing committee concerned.

He said that parliamentarians and Irsa members would also be invited to the committee meeting.

Meanwhile, PPP’s Parliamen­tary Leader in the Senate Senator Sherry Rehman submitted a Calling Attention notice regarding the proposed amendments to the Irsa Act, 1992, seeking a clarification from the federal Ministry of Water Resources.

“Will the Minister of Water Resources clarify the reports about proposed changes to the Irsa Act, 1992? Such changes could critically undermine the spirit of the Accord by diluting provincial concerns and violating the constitutional intent of the CCI,” the notice reads.

“The Sindh member of IRSA has opposed the draft amendments, which has caused unrest in Sindh, especially since the province is already at a disadvantage in interprovincial water distribution and with Indus upstream projects.

“There are strong reservations in Sindh regarding this matter,” the notice said, which was also signed by PPP Senator Jam Saifullah Khan, Senator Poonjo Bheel, Senator Sarmad Ali and Senator Barrister Zamir Ghumro.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2024