ISLAMABAD - The Ministry of Planning has requested the Cabinet Division to change Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) meeting minutes related to the construction of Cholistan Canal, which had linked the construction of the canal with approval of Council of Common Interests (CCI).
A letter was written to Cabinet Division by MoPD&SI for correction of ECNEC meeting minutes, official sources told The Nation here. The Ministry of Planning is of the view that the decision of ECNEC was just related to Greater Thal Canal and Cholistan Canal was mistakenly recorded in the minutes of the meeting, therefore it requested the Cabinet Division to correct it, the source said. According to the source, Sindh is insisting on placing Cholistan Canal to CCI, as per the decision of ECNEC, and the correction of the ECNEC meeting minutes simply means that the project escape the CCI scrutiny. In February 2024, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council had conditionally approved a plan titled “Development of National Irrigation Network for Green Pakistan Initiative,” and to allay the concerns of the provinces, the approval of the proposal was subjected to approval by Council of Common Interests (CCI), the source said. It is also worth mentioning here that the technical section of the Planning Commission had also recommended to the CDWP that Cholistan project consideration may be subjected to approval of CCI.
Notably, the CDWP had given nod to the construction of Cholistan Canal and Systems-Phase I, at the cost of 225.340 billion, despite strong objection from the Sindh province. During the CDWP meeting, the representative of the Sindh government had requested to defer the approval of Cholistan Canal till the final decision of the CCI, source added.
According to the source, the meeting of the Central Development Working Party (CDWP), which was held under the chairmanship of Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives, discussed that ECNEC decision of February 07, 2024, on a plan titled “Development of National Irrigation Network for Green Pakistan Initiative. The plan included construction of Cholistan Flood Feeder Canal, Greater Thal Canal (GTC), Construction of Kachhi Canal, Construction of Rainee Canal, Construction of Thar Canal and Construction of Chashma Right Bank Canal (CRBC). However, regarding ECNEC decision on “Development of National Irrigation Network for Green Pakistan Initiative”, the forum was informed that only Greater Thal Canal was discussed in ECNEC meeting and it was decided by forum that approval of GTC is subject to CCI approval. However, as per meeting minutes of ECNEC, whole plan including Cholistan Canal was approved subject to CCI’s approval, the source said. A letter was forwarded to Cabinet Division by MoPD&SI for correction of ECNEC decision.
During the CDWP meeting, representative of Government of Sindh expressed concerns over project that will eventually affect lower riparian Sindh province. He highlighted that Sindh has already approached CCI for withdrawal of Water Availability Certificate issued by IRSA, and the decision of CCI is awaited, therefore, project consideration may be subjected to approval of CCI. He added that Sindh is already facing water shortage and not receiving its allocated share as per WAA 1991, therefore construction of new canal will further aggravate the water scarcity situation in Sindh. He further added that project may be processed after consensus of all stakeholders in CCI. Sindh has raised objections to construction of Cholistan Canal Chobara Branch and conditioned its construction of the canal with the increase in water availability. According to Sindh’s stance, the availability of water should be increased before constructing the proposed canal. Sindh fears that the construction of the canals will reduce the province’s share of water.
Green Pakistan Initiative (GPI) is a flagship project under the ambit of Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) undertaken through collaborative efforts by Pakistan Army with federal/provincial governments with an aim to enhance agriculture potential of Pakistan by increasing cultivable areas. Launched in 2023, pilot project under the ambit is the Corporate Agriculture Farming effort in Greater Cholistan. The idea is to bring 400,000 acres of desert body of Cholistan under cultivation in the phase-I. To achieve the goal, the construction of Cholistan Flood Feeder Canal has been proposed.
