There is no doubt about the fact that country's water resources are now reaching critical mass. It is therefore heartening to see that the federal government has decided to take some firm steps before it's too late.
The 41-page National Water Policy presented in the Council of Common Interest (CCI) on Tuesday is said to be a comprehensive policy that covers drought and floods, which have alternately plagued Pakistan in recent years. In this regard, a Business Recorder editorial seems to have plausibly argued that the draft policy "if implemented, would go a long way in meeting the looming water crisis which, according to a report by United Nations Development Programme, is a much greater issue than terrorism and has projected that Pakistan would dry up by 2025. With just seven years remaining, the Policy urges the government to allocate at least 10 percent of Federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) on the water sector which should be increased to 20 percent gradually by 2030."
The report doesn't name the controversial Kalabagh Dam project although it advocates the construction of mega water reservoirs in view of acute water shortages. The implementation of a national water policy always faces a formidable challenge because of inter-provinces bickering. The situation requires all the provinces to fully appreciate the criticality of a concrete water policy in order to ward off present and future challenges facing a largely agrarian economy.
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