Sindh -chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said on Thursday that the federal government cannot continue the controversial project of the Marot canal without the Sindh consent, warning that the Pakistani peoples’ party (PPP) would resist such a decision.
“How to build the canal when he has not even received approval?” Shah asked, firmly opposing the construction offered during a press conference at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh.
He said that as long as the PPP exists, the canal is not built, adding that instead of opposing the canals, some political parties had used the PPP protest itself.
The Marot canal is a proposed irrigation channel designed to run from the Sulemanki dam on the Sutlej river in Fort Abbas in the Cholistan desert.
Clarifying the current status of the project, Shah declared that only the preliminary profiling extending over a few hundred feet was carried out in July, which does not come back at the start of the construction. He criticized several media to “spread disinformation” and urged responsible journalism in this area.
Stressing the commitment of his party to defend the interests of the Sindh, Shah said that the PPP was ready to make a sacrifice to protect the rights of the province.
He approached the past allegations that former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto allocated funds to the Kalabagh dam, saying that these statements were not founded and had been refuted.
Shah stressed that the Constitution requires that the provinces be consulted on water -related issues.
“They cannot escape this question; the Constitution requires a provincial consultation on water issues,” he said, revealing that the Sindh government had on several occasions a meeting of the Common Interest Board (CCI) to discuss the project, but had not yet received a response.
According to Shah, the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) approved Punjab’s request for 0.8 million acres (MAF) of water for the Marot canal project – a decision that sparked strong opposition from the Sindh.
He noted that Punjab justifies its request by quoting historical data from 1976 to 2022, which shows an average of 27 maf of water flowing downstream at the Kotri dam each year. While the officially required environmental flow is 8.5 MAF, Shah said that the real requirement should be 10 MAF.
The Sindh, however, argues that at least 20.5 MAF is necessary to prevent the intrusion of sea water and preserve the ecosystem of the Delta of the Indus.
With a current national shortage of water of 11 MAF and only 8 MAF reaching the Oman Sea, Punjab maintains that the remaining 7 MAF constitute an excess water. Shah warned that more diversion could deepen the water shortage in the agricultural areas of the Sindh and endanger the Delta.
He urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to officially delete the Marot Canal project, noting that the Federal Governments and the Sindh had already opposed the Central Development Working. He underlined the need for interprotrovincial harmony and warned against actions that could increase tensions.
