PPP senators oppose proposed amendments to Irsa Act

ISLAMABAD: PPP legislators on Tuesday raised in the Senate serious concerns over the proposed changes in the Irsa Act, billing it a total violation of the Constitution and bypass of the Council of Common Interests, as the government insisted no legislation will be done sans consensus.

Anticipating the amendments, senators Sherry Rehman, Zamir Hussain Ghumro, Jam Saifullah Khan, Poonjo Bheel and Sarmad Ali moved a calling attention notice for the minister for water resources towards proposed changes in the Irsa Act 1992, “undermining the spirit of the Accord and is also in violation of the constitutional intent of CCI due to which there are strong reservations in Sindh province in this regard”.

PPP’s Parliamentary Leader in the Senate Sherry Rehman raised serious concerns over the proposed amendments and emphasized, “The proposed changes have sparked significant apprehensions in Sindh. These amendments are a direct attack on the Irsa Act and water distribution rights of lower riparians.”

This, she pointed out, is the third attempt within a year to alter the Irsa Act. The recent proposed revisions infringe upon the rights of the province’s citizens and their access to water resources. She noted that water scarcity in Sindh is not a new issue, as the province faces the dual challenges of monsoon flooding and drought, with the latter severely affecting agriculture and the lives of people.

Due to upstream projects on the Indus River, she contended the Kotri Barrage experiences a 60 to 70 percent reduction in water flow while the Irsa Act of 1991 was originally designed to ensure fair water distribution among the provinces, and despite its genuine reservations, Sindh accepted the Irsa Act 1991.

She explained that according to the proposed changes, The Indus River System Authority (Irsa) would be brought under federal control and managed by a federal bureaucrat, whereas it functions as a regulatory agency governed by the CCI, as outlined in the second part of the Federal Legislative List.

“These amendments violate Article 154, which states that the CCI shall formulate and regulate policies in relation to matters in Part II of the Federal Legislative List and shall exercise supervision and control over related institutions and Article 155 of the Constitution, which stipulates that water distribution is a matter for the CCI and reads: If the interests of a province, the federal capital, or any of the inhabitants thereof in water from any natural source of supply [or reservoir] have been or are likely to be affected.”

The Sindh representative in Irsa, she emphasized, has expressed clause-by-clause reservations on the proposed amendments, which were introduced without proper consultation with the provinces. She added Sindh is the home of the Indus River, and these amendments are being pushed through without considering the province’s water deprivation.

She continued that the Sindh Assembly has already passed a resolution rejecting these changes, as many areas in the province are experiencing severe water shortages, making this not just a constitutional issue but one of human survival.

Addressing misconceptions, she clarified, “The flow of river water into the sea is not wasted. Globally, hydro-science acknowledges that rivers need to reasonably flow into the sea to sustain delta regions. If this flow is blocked, areas like Thatta, Badin, Sujawal and others in Sindh will face ecological collapse. The lands in these regions have already become barren, saline, and unfit for agriculture.”

She urged the government not to further alienate Sindh, a province already suffering from water scarcity, and to reconsider the proposed amendments.

Zamir Ghumro cautioned against amending the Act bypassing the Sindh province and CCI, being a serious constitutional violation, and said that Article 154 provided that a province can go for repeal of the Irsa Act to the extent of the province. He continued that since the act had come into being with the consent of the provinces, therefore, if Sindh goes for its repeal, then the water arrangement will be as per the accord between Sindh and Punjab in 1945 with 48 percent share of each, leading to constitutional breakdown.

Referring to the CCI composition, he explained that the representation of all the four provinces is equal that is two each, but right now, both Sindh and Balochistan have one member each while four members belong to Punjab and hence it was unable to go for dispute resolution if any. The other forum for dispute resolution, he noted, is the Supreme Court, where Lahore has 10 judges and Karachi five.

Jam Saifullah, who has been twice provincial minister, said that amending the Irsa Act, without evolving consensus and going by the book, will be counter-productive. “It is an extremely sensitive matter, please don’t take it lightly,” he remarked.

He urged the Upper House and Punjab to listen to their concerns with an open heart and complained sometime they say Kalabagh Dam should be built in view of floods while already Chashma Link Canal and Thal Canal were constructed for flooding but continued to be perennial canals for the last 20 years. Saifullah warned against imposing decisions through brute force and in a dictatorial way on a federating unit.

Poonjo Bheel contended that as per their leadership’s decision, there would be no compromise over the province’s water rights. He also claimed that the Ministry of Water Resources was unconstitutional after the inception of the 18th Constitutional Amendment. “Water is a matter of life and death for the people of Sindh. Therefore, there is a need to strictly adhere to the Constitution and its related bodies. Our province must not be deprived of its rights as per the Constitution,” he argued.

Sarmad Ali called the amendment to the Irsa Act an attempt to change its entire structure, according to which the Centre had one member, and now it would have two, including the chairman, being a retired bureaucrat, whose term of service will be four years, whereas a member would be there for three years. He added hence a constitutional body would be made subservient to the Centre.

The PPP senator termed the proposed amendments lop-sided, insisting if changes are to be made in its structure, then all the stakeholders should be consulted duly and consensus should be evolved for fair and transparent water distribution. “This matter does not concern one but four provinces, so it is necessary to first evolve consensus prior to tabling it in the Houses. It is not a technical or political issue but a humanitarian matter, related also to the climate change,” he noted.

Minister for Water Resources Musadik Malik gave a categorical assurance to the senators that no decision would be made without consent of the ruling coalition allies and parliamentarians. “We will not do anything, if it does not suit a province, as there is no other way but to go through the parliament for legislation. The bill has not been tabled yet, there is objection on a thing that has not arrived at so far,” he noted.

While saying it was the discretion of the two chambers of the parliament to legislate, the minister referred to a categorical statement made by the prime minister that all the coalition partners would be taken along and why to do anything that impacts the coalition.

The minister said to have received a document from Irsa, bearing signatures of all its members, including member Sindh. He added whatever objections would be therein, would be addressed. He pointed out that the document being seen was aimed at enhancing water efficiency and accuracy. “When there is a talk on water, it appears we belong to some other country,” he noted.

He said that apprehensions would be addressed by grounding opinions in evidence. He explained the aim was to install telemetry system to settle conflicting views on the basis of real time data about water flows. However, he made it clear that once the bill is tabled in the House, it would be then referred to the House committee concerned, and if the members would deem fit, they would endorse it, and then it would come to the House and it would be up to the members to decide on its fate. Referring to the data concerning downstream Kotri, he claimed only last year, 14.3 million acre feet (MAF) water went downstream Kotri, and this year before floods, 18.8 MAF water had gone downstream, whereas the requirement was 8.62 MAF. He continued it was recorded at 15.25 MAF in 2019, 2.1 MAF in 2020 and 42.14 MAF 2021 and 14.28 MAF in 2022.