The High Court of the Sindh (SHC) made a suspension prescription prohibiting the construction of channels following a challenge to the certificate of water availability issued by the Indus River System Authority (IRSA), news said on Monday.
The court heard a petition questioning the legality of the certificate, which is required for the construction projects of the canal. The bench requested a detailed response from the federal government by April 18.
The IRSA had previously approved the water supply of the Cholistan canal system project, issuing a certificate that allowed the Punjab government to build the canal, which branches from the Sutlej river to Sulemanki Headworks.
However, this decision was challenged by Sindh, who described it “unfair”.
Meanwhile, in a statement today, the Minister of Sindh irrigation, Jam Khan Shoro, described the ordinance of the historic decision. He reiterated the provincial government’s request to appoint a real Sindh representative to the IRSA and cancel the channel’s projects.
The question of the canal has sparked strong political reactions in the Sindh, where local leaders argue that the rights of the province on water are bypas.
Demonstrations have broken out in the Sindh in recent weeks, such as the opposition to the construction proposed by the federal government of new channels on the Indus River is intensifying.
Civil society groups, farmers and political activists have descended into the street, warning that controversial projects could deepen the water shortage in the lower bank province.
The demonstrations were fed by fears that the planned channels – including the Cholistan canal – would deprive the Sindh of its just part of water, in violation of the 1991 water agreement.
Responding to increasing public pressure, the Sindh Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution in March by rejecting the construction of six new channels on the Indus.
The resolution called illegal projects and called on the federal government and the Industry System Authority (IRSA) to immediately stop any related activity.
He also demanded that all the provinces, in particular the Sindh, be consulted before such developments, to ensure that their constitutional water rights be confirmed.
Reinforcing the position of the province, the president of the PPP, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, issued a strong reprimand to the federal government during a rally in Larkana. He warned the center of “backing up” of the channel projects, qualifying them as a threat to national unity and the means of subsistence of the Sindh.
Bilawal reminded the crowd of the historic opposition of his party to similar projects, including the Kalabagh dam, and reiterated the PPP’s commitment to the justice of water and the interprovincial harmony.
