Cholistan project inaugurated but CCI remains indifferent to Sindh’s objections – Pakistan

HYDERABAD: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and Chief of the Army Staff Gen Asim Munir inaugurated the ambitious Cholistan project to irrigate south Punjab lands on February 15 amid a public uproar in Sindh and strong reservations expressed by stakeholders of the smaller province.

Summaries of Sindh regarding new water projects, including Cholistan canal, have been submitted in the Council of Common Interests (CCI) in 2023 and 2024 but a decision on them is still awaited. CCI is a forum that has exclusive jurisdiction to decide water disputes.

Three most contentious water projects questioned by Sindh, being the lower riparian, to protect its permanent water interests are before the CCI for a decision as the province finds them detrimental to water rights of its people.

Among them is “Extension of irrigated agriculture smaller Cholistan by transferring water through link canals & water availability certificate” which is lying in the CCI. The certificate is issued for April-Sept (Kharif) period.

The Greater Thal Canal (GTC) Phase-II is also disputed one. It takes off from Chashma-Jhelum (CJ) link canal over Indus river and its phase-II covers “Chaubara branch canal and its system of Mankera, Dhingana, Nurpur and Mahmood sub-branch, according to information available with Sindh government. Similarly, Jalalpur irrigation canal system is pending a decision in CCI since 2022.

The Cholistan water project has been a bone of contention between Sindh and Punjab federal governments ever since the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) gave its nod on Jan 17, 2024 on issuance of water availability certificate for the controversial project. The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) had okayed it in October 2024.

‘Flood Feeder’

Cholistan canal — also known as Cholistan Flood Feeder in papers — aims to develop new command area, though in phased manner, in southern Punjab depending on flows from Sutlej River besides flood supplies. Sutlej flows, according to Sindh’s position, depend on surplus releases from India ever since it was surrendered to India under the Indus Water Treaty 1960.

After issuance of the certificate, caretaker CM Maqbool Baqar questioned it in January 2024, conveying Sindh’s concerns to then caretaker PM Anwarul Haq Kakar. Incumbent CM Murad Ali Shah questioned the document in 2024 as Irsa lacks mandate to issue it in the absence of allocation in the 1991 Water Accord. Sindh considers it as most contentious canal project that targets new command area in Cholistan with 455,000 acres in Phase-I and 744,000 acres in Phase-II.

Cholistan stretches over 6,655,360 acres — about half of Sindh’s total command area of 13.2m acres — which is to be developed in future. Presentation in Irsa shows that smaller Cholistan has 1,996,600 acres and Greater Cholistan 4,658,760 acres.

The Cholistan canal is among the six strategic canals which are part of the Green Pakistan Initiatives (GPI). Besides Cholistan, GTC and its command area development Phase-II (Chaubara Branch canal), Thar canal, Rainee canal Phase-II and Kachhi canal have been questioned before the CCI by Sindh.

The 176km-long Cholistan canal with 4,120 cusecs covers remodeling of “a chain of link canals” — RQBS link (Rasul-Qadirabad-Balloki and Balloki-Sulemanki) at a cost of Rs211,340bn to develop 455,000 acres command in Phase-I.

In Phase-II, 744,000 acres would be developed along with 120km-long Marot canal and its minors spanning over 452km. The capacity of RQ link would be enhanced from 19,000 to 25,000 cusecs; QB link from 22,000 to 25,000 cusecs and BS link from 24,500 to 28,700 cusecs. None of Sindh’s major canals, either Rohri or Nara, has such designed discharge. The largest Nara canal’s designed discharge is 13,649 cusecs — almost half of what RQBS existing capacity is, what to talk of enhancement.

Punjab says it would divert its share of water through RQBS but Sindh wants Punjab to come clean on “which existing canal’s water share will be cut to provide water to new canal system”.

Jalalpur canal project which was pending decision in CCI emanates from Rasul barrage to irrigate 168,684 acres rain-fed land for which demand would be met from Punjab’s share as per its PC-I. Water allowance for Jalalpur canal is 6.75 cusecs per 1,000 acres — 2.5 times higher than allowance of Sindh’s canals i.e. 2.75 cusecs per 1,000 acres.

“Jalalpur canal will affect cultivation on approx 490,000 acres in Sindh,” reads Sindh’s summary re-submitted in 2024. Sindh considers it a move to “regularize CJ link canal” — a disputed flood channel upstream Guddu barrage — over Indus to bring new areas and fallow lands under plough at cost of existing canal command areas of lower riparian.

“While there is no water, Chaubara and Jalalpur canals are built in water deficient areas. We had raised this with donors i.e ADB about providing funding for projects that will deprive other areas of water. ADB later informed us they are withdrawing funding from projects,” said Mahmood Nawaz Shah, president Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB).

Sindh’s argument

Sindh Secretary Irrigation Zarif Khero argued that “allocations to a new canal system from flood flows” couldn’t be ascertained until and unless “requirement of Kotri downstream” were finalized under para-7 of Water Apportionment Accord 1991. He said average discharge downstream Kotri from 1976-1998 was about 40.69 MAF but climate change-induced weather patterns and projects in upper Indus basin, average discharge dropped to 14.035 MAF in 1999-2023.

“Of 25 years [1999 to 2023], downstream Kotri flows remained 0.286 MAF to 9.489 MAF only in 12 years,” he said while mentioning that International Panel of Experts recommended 8.6MAF as minimum post Kotri flows. Sindh argued that data shared by Punjab in Irsa already indicates a drastic reduction in discharge downstream Qadirabad from 15.25 MAF (average of 1976-1998) to 7.89 MAF (average 1999-2023) thus irrigating areas through smaller Cholistan project would reduce flows Qadirabad downstream further and other barrages “only to necessitating diversion of more water” from Indus to eastern tributaries through CJ and Taunsa-Panjnad (TP) link canals — both controversial.

Sindh also has serious concerns about Kachhi canal, a Balochistan project. 500km long Kachhi takes off from Taunsa barrage to irrigate Dera Bugti, Nasirabad, Bolan and Jhal Magsi. Phase-I, II & III include ‘a drain’ being built to protect Kachhi against torrential flows that are supposed to ‘outfall’ in Hammal lake in Qambar-Shahdadkot district.

Sindh’s objection is that the drain was conceived sans consideration to capacity of its outfall point of lake. Existing system of flood drainage in Sindh could by no mean be capable of “channelised flow” of Kachhi canal drainage component.

Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2025