Looming water crisis: CCI urged to set up commission

The Council of Common Interests (CCI) was requested to set up a National Water Commission for implementation of National Water Policy to deal with looming water crisis in the country. Ministry of Water and Power in a summary presented to the CCI requested that National Water Commission should be set up under the chairmanship of minister for water and power. The Commission will be supported by the Office of the Chief Engineering Adviser, Ministry of Water & Power, which shall act as the Secretariat of the Commission.
In view of the additional functions to be assigned to the existing organization, a policy implementation has been proposed with new posts. A policy steering committee is also proposed to oversee and monitor the policy implementation guidelines given by the National Water Commission through the Policy Implementation Cell. On the proposal of the Ministry of Water and Power, it was decided that a committee comprising Chairman Planning Commission, Deputy Chairman Planning, Secretaries of Planning, Water and Energy Divisions and provincial representatives be constituted for detailed scrutiny and analysis of the proposed policy.
A copy of the summary available with Business Recorder stated that Pakistan possesses the world''s largest contiguous irrigation system with an area of 46 million acres and encompasses the Indus River and its major tributaries. The total surface water availability is about 145 MAF of which 104 MAF is available at farm gate. The system includes three large reservoirs (Tarbela, Mangla and Chashma), 18 barrages, 12 inter-river links and 45 canal commands extending for about 61,000km.
The CCI was told that with increasing population, Pakistan is fast heading towards a situation of serious water shortage. The per capita surface water availability which was 5,260 cubic meters per year in 1951 has reduced to 940 cubic meters per year in 2015 rendering Pakistan a water-stressed country.
The Ministry continued that it is expected to drop to about 860 cubic meters by 2025 representing acute water shortage conditions. Pakistan has thus reached the stage of "acute water shortage" where people fight for every drop of water.
Some of the key issues facing the water sector are; (a) the absence of a holistic, integrated and sustained approach, (b) sub-optimal use and low productivity of water, (c) inadequate storage capacity with water escapages to sea, (d) extensive seepage losses in the irrigation system, (e) inadequate operation & maintenance and poor cost recovery, (f) excessive groundwater pumpage without groundwater recharge (mining of groundwater), (g) absence of measures for rainfall harvesting, (h) unsafe disposal of drainage effluent to the sea, (h) inadequate protection of infrastructure from floods, (i) lack of private sector participation, (j) deteriorating institutional capacities of key water sector institutions, (k) increased poverty in backward irrigated areas, and (l) poor linkage among water, agriculture and rural development projects and related research.
To address the above issues in a holistic and integrated manner, a comprehensive National Water Policy has been prepared after extensive consultations with all the stakeholders.
The objectives of National Policy included: (i) the National Water Policy prescribes an Integrated Water Resources Management Regime that aims at; (i) full exploitation of the available water resources of the country through reservoirs, conservation and efficient use; (ii) improving availability, reliability and quality of fresh water resources to meet critical municipal, agricultural, energy, security and environmental needs; (iii) hydropower development for economic growth; (iv) providing food security, expanding water availability to help adapt climate change, population and other large-scale stresses; (v) treatment and possible reuse of waste water - domestic, agricultural and industrial; (vi) upgrading water sector information system for improved asset management water resources; (vii) improving watershed management through extensive soil conservation, catchment area treatment, preservation of forest and increasing forest cove; (viii) restoring and maintaining the health of the environment and ecology;(ix) flood management to mitigate floods and minimize flood damages; (x) drought management with emphasis on long-term vulnerability reduction; (xi) security of benefit streams of the water-related infrastructure for sustained provision of services; (xii) promoting principles of integrated water resources management; (xiii) promoting appropriate technologies for rainwater harvesting in rural as well as urban areas; (xiv) controlling groundwater pumping and to reduce over-abstraction/ undermining; (xv) adequate water pricing (Abiana) for proper operation and maintenance of the irrigation system and its long-term sustainability; (xvi) promoting measures for long-term sustainability of the Irrigation system; and (xvii) encouraging beneficiary participation and public private partnership and capacity building of water sector institutions.
The processes of planning, development and management of water resources shall have the guiding principles of equity, efficiency, participatory decision-making, sustainability, transparency, and accountability.
Water will have the following recognized sectors laying demand for consumptive and non-consumptive use of water with the following priorities; ( i) drinking (including requirement for livestock) and sanitation; (ii) irrigation including land reclamation; (iii) hydropower; (iv) industry; (v) environment, river system, wetlands, aquatic life; (vi) forestry including social forestry; and (vii) recreation and sports and navigation.
The CCI was told that this policy document has been prepared by a committee of water sector experts after intensive consultations with all the stakeholders in the federal and provincial governments through a series of meetings and workshops.
The draft NWP document was submitted to the Ministry of Law and Justice for advice, which observed that "Legislative List of the Constitution, 1973 (4th Schedule) does not possess any such provision with regard to water policy, etc. As such it is evident that it is a provincial subject and Federal Ministry, if considers necessary, may issue this policy, in consultation with provinces through M/o Inter-Provincial Coordination."