to 2012-13.” under the Water Apportionment Accord (WAA) 1992. “So far KP is utilising about 5.78 MAF of water due to lack of irrigation structure. And the average less utilisation is 34 per cent of the share, owing to which the compensation for the water used by Punjab and other provinces from its share has been worked out at Rs 119 billion for the period from 1992-93 to 2012-13.”
The Balochistan secretary said Balochistan’s share was 3.87 MAF, out of which 3.050 MAF was being utilised since 1991-92, but the remaining share (0.812 MAF) was not utilised due to lack of irrigation infrastructure. He asked for Rs 2 billion to improve the existing canal and drainage system of Balochistan.
The Punjab Irsa member, while referring to para 14 (e) of the WAA, did not agree with KP’s assertion that Punjab and other provinces are liable to pay compensation for water usage. He said despite KP’s assertion, it is a fact that Punjab experienced shortages during Kharif and Rabi seasons. He said a significant part of KP’s unutilised water flew into the sea through Kotri Barrage. He emphasised that KP’s proposal for amending the Irsa Act or Water Apportionment Accord should not be considered, otherwise it would reopen an already-settled matter.
The Sindh secretary endorsed Punjab’s view and stated that the contention of the KP government was not justifiable. According to the minutes, the present storage capacity of reservoirs including Mangla Dam has been reduced to 14.12 MAF from the original capacity of 15.72 MAF at the time of the commissioning of the Tarbela Dam in 1976. While achieving consensus on the accord, the provinces had been assured that their existing usages derived by the Haleem Commission would remain protected. He said the water share of Punjab stood at 54.52 MAF, Sindh 43.53 MAF, KP 3.07 MAF and Balochistan 1.63 MAF. He argued that as per averages from 1992, Punjab and Sindh were getting 9 per cent and 7 per cent respectively in comparison to their average usage due to diminishing storage capacity while KP was getting 36 per cent more than its historical usage. He said when Punjab and Sindh were not even getting their average share, how they could be accused of using KP’s share.
The Planning Commission representative also endorsed the Punjab and Sindh representatives, saying that there was no need to reopen the Water Apportionment Accord.