Sept 13, 2024
Staff Report
LAHORE:
The proposed changes to the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) Act, 1992 have sparked controversy – with both Sindh and Balochistan firmly rejecting them.
The changes, aimed at restructuring the water regulator, have faced resistance not just from the provincial assembly members of Balochistan and Sindh but also the civil society. They argue that altering Irsa could intensify interprovincial disputes over Indus water distribution under the 1991 Water Apportionment Accord (WAA).
President Asif Ali Zardari, leader of the PPP, which governs the lower riparian province of Sindh, is backing the proposed changes to the law.
IRSA is a federal body responsible for regulating, monitoring, and distributing Indus waters among the provinces. Its mandate includes implementing the 1991 Water Apportionment Accord, which governs the allocation of the Indus River System’s water resources between the provinces.
The new draft follows the Indus River System Authority (Amendment) Ordinance of 2024, which was introduced during the caretaker government but was denied presidential assent by Dr Arif Alvi.
What will change in Irsa Act?
The proposed amendments to the Irsa Act aim to alter its structure, making it more subservient to the federal government. Currently, Irsa consists of five members, one from each province and the federal government, with the chairmanship rotating annually among them. The new amendments introduce the position of ‘vice chairman’ and state that the chairman will be a federal government employee appointed by the prime minister for a four-year term. The authority’s decisions would take precedence over conflicting views from Wapda or provincial irrigation departments.
Irsa’s current advisory committee includes the chairman, members of the authority, federal and provincial officials, and Wapda representatives. The committee meets to discuss referred matters or at the start of the kharif and rabi seasons. Proposed amendments introduce two changes: one allows the creation of sub-committees and the hiring of experts, while the other establishes an ‘Independent Experts Committee’ comprising technical specialists. Also, the prime minister, instead of the federal government, will have the authority to remove or appoint the chairman, who can be a retired or serving federal officer in BS-21.
Reasons Sindh and Balochistan oppose amendments
The latest opposition to proposed changes was voiced by the Sindh’s civil society. On September 12, a Joint Action Committee (JAC) of civil society members denounced the amendments as ‘anti-federation’. At a meeting held at the press club in Hyderabad, Imdad Chandio, adviser to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, said that disadvantaging one province could impact the entire federation and further marginalise Sindh’s farmers.
Speaking at the meeting, Amar Sindhu, representing the Women Action Forum, criticised the plan “to divert Sindh’s water share to land under the Green Pakistan Initiative”, arguing that it would lead to significant productivity losses for the province.
On September 10, the Grand Democratic Alliance and other opposition parties also rejected the proposed amendments. They called for President Asif Zardari’s resignation, accusing his party of advancing the controversial changes.
On September 9, the Sindh Assembly passed a resolution opposing the proposed amendments to the Irsa Act of 1992. The resolution, presented by PPP’s Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, warned that the amendments could devastate the province’s agricultural districts.
He argued that altering the Irsa act would be tantamount to changing the WAA, and would contradict the democratic principles of federalism – as the chief ministers of all provinces signed it, and any amendments to the act without provincial consultation were “unacceptable”.
On September 11, Balochistan’s Irrigation Minister Mir Muhammad Sadiq Umrani rejected the federal government’s proposed amendments to the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) Act. He asserted that the changes would violate the 18th constitutional amendment. He pledged his support for Sindh on the issue of water sharing.
Experts have long held that the water accord has become outdated – because they say the water accord is based on volumetric flows, irrespective of variations in surface water flows over the years. It also does not take into account the climatic changes in crop sowing patterns. However, the proposed amendments do not take these realities into account. It is focused purely on the structure of the water regulator.