Senate panel slams civic bodies, provinces over deadly flood negligence

ISLAMABAD: A Senate panel on Wednesday slammed civic authorities and provincial governments for failing to clear thousands of encroachments along waterways, blaming the negligence of officials for deadly flooding during this year’s monsoon.

Chairing a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Water Resources, Senator Shahadat Awan questioned why Punjab authorities did not remove 897 identified encroachments despite repeated warnings.

“There are court orders for removing encroachments, yet no one acts. Should people keep dying like this?” Senator Awan asked, calling for lodging criminal cases against officials who failed to enforce orders.

“If these (encroachments) had been removed, so many lives in Islamabad would not have been lost,” he said, noting that the federal capital experienced some of the worst flooding this year.

The committee members criticised the Capital Development Authority (CDA), saying its focus appeared to be on real estate and housing societies rather than protecting waterways.

Senator Humayun Mohmand highlighted a recent incident in a private housing society where a car plunged into an open drainage channel. “You can remove a street vendor in minutes but why can’t secure an open drain?” he asked.

Officials of the Ministry of Water Resources told the Senate committee that provincial irrigation departments were responsible for clearing waterways within provinces, while the Islamabad Capital Territory administration used to handle enforcement in the capital. The Federal Flood Commission, they added, only coordinates among agencies.

Senator Sadia Abbasi slammed the CDA’s flood response, citing blocked drains, flooded streets and the collapse of a newly built underpass within six months of construction. “CDA’s negligence and incompetence have been fully exposed,” she said.

The committee also reviewed the worsening groundwater depletion in the country, particularly in Punjab, where there is no law restricting excessive groundwater extraction. Officials said groundwater zones had been notified, but over-pumping continued due to lack of regulation. “Water scarcity is now causing cracks in land and even in airport surfaces,” Awan warned.

Chief Engineer Irrigation (Balochistan) told the panel that in Quetta, where groundwater level had dropped dangerously low, solar tube wells were still being distributed despite restrictions. “The province has built 2,000 small check dams but with limited impact. At this pace, Quetta will run out of water in five years,” Senator Faisal Saleem warned.

The Federal Flood Commission blamed provincial governments for ignoring the 2018 National Water Policy, failing to create groundwater regulatory authorities despite repeated reminders. These authorities were supposed to issue water pumping licenses and enable rainwater harvesting to recharge aquifers, it said.