The construction of new canals to irrigate the Cholistan desert has soured relations between the PPP and PML-N on the one hand and the Sindh government and the Centre on the other. There have been widespread protests across Sindh against the controversial canal project on the Indus. The protests have turned into a mass movement, bringing together diverse political forces. The issue has put the PPP, which has ruled the province for the last 15 years, in a difficult position.

Critics say that the canal project would turn a large part of the province into barren land, and the PPP being a part of the ruling coalition at the centre, cannot escape the blame for the upcoming disaster. Had drought-like conditions in Sindh not made the Indus water levels a matter of life or death for its inhabitants, the issue may not have been so serious. But already Sindh suffers from a shortage of water for irrigation.

The distribution of water from the Indus has always been a sensitive issue for Sindh. The latest controversy over the new canals has turned the situation in the province more explosive. Thousands of people, including the youth and women, are joining in the protests along with Sindhi nationalist groups across the province. Many mainstream political parties and members of civil society have also come out to oppose the canal project that they believe would damage the agricultural economy of Sindh.

It appears that the PPP did not initially oppose the canals due to its political interests. However, when public anger began building up to fever pitch, it realised it could not ignore the issue any longer. It is obvious that the interests of the people of Sindh were not taken into account when the decision regarding the canal projects was taken at the highest level.

Following the protests, the provincial administration in Sindh has openly opposed the federal government’s project. But the PPP’s position is considered dubious. It is alleged that President Asif Zardari had assented to the project last year. The army chief and Punjab chief minister later inaugurated a GPI project in the southern Punjab region of Cholistan that is to be irrigated by the new canals on the Indus.

The main concern is that the canals would reduce the flow of water to Sindh. But such a sensitive issue was never discussed and approved by the Council of Common Interests. It is also relevant to add here that the PPP did not demand a CCI meeting earlier when the canal plan was starting to take shape, and only woke up to the disturbing issue after the opposition took to the streets. But the Sindh government denies the allegation of failing to raise the issue with the federal government.

On the technical level, hydrologists, water resources experts and environmentalists have opposed the plan to build canals on the Indus River and suggested alternative solutions to ensure that Pakistan’s agriculture sector gets modernised without trampling on provincial rights and harming the natural flow of Indus and its ecology. They say that the amount of sand and mud is quite a lot in the Indus and, therefore, the canals water would require desilting on a large scale. There are also other technical problems in the canals project like land levelling and residual silt which make the entire plan unfeasible. Experts suggest an alternative solution based on a study conducted by some Pakistani and American experts, according to which instead of canals, the river bank filtration system with “horizontal collector wells” should be used to transport water to Cholistan. Similarly, the Sutlej River has a huge quantity of reserve water under its bed which is enough to irrigate entire Cholistan. Incidentally, the Sutlej is the nearest river to the Cholistan region. Moreover, it is said that the scheme would cost half the money compared to the expenses of canals and the duration would also be very less.

PPP leaders have now announced that the party will adopt constitutional and democratic methods to fight Sindh’s case. There is an urgent need to resolve the dispute over the canal project sooner than later as the prevailing public unrest in the province can take a turn for the worse, adding to the woes the federal government faces in Balochistan and KP. There is a growing demand that the canal project, which is a life and death issue for Sindh, be shelved. Sindh’s concerns about the project are not unfounded. The major responsibility lies with the federal government to address the grievances of the people of Sindh and take necessary remedial measures.

Fortunately, there is an existing constitutional mechanism for resolving water disputes among the provinces. The Sindh government has accused the federal government of having failed to fully implement the Water Apportionment Accord of 1991. In the larger perspective, the unilateral decision to build the canals in the Punjab without referring the matter to CCI was unwise and in violation of the Constitution. It is not yet too late to mend matters. The canal issue and all its pros and cons should be thoroughly discussed and the project be relaunched after necessary corrections and modifications.