ISLAMABAD-Indus River System Authority has convened the meeting of its advisory committee tomorrow (Thursday) to finalise water availability plan for the upcoming Kharif season as the anticipated water shortage is likely to be between 20 to 35 percent for the season.
The meeting of the IRSA’s Advisory Committee has been convened on March 30 to finalize water availability plan for the upcoming Kharif season starting April 1, official source told The Nation. The meeting will be presided over by chairman IRSA and will be attended by all IRSA Members, Chief, Engineering Advisor, Representatives of Members Water and Power of Wapda, representatives of Agriculture and Irrigation Secretaries of the provinces. The technical committee of the Indus River System Authority had anticipated the water shortages of 20 to 35 percent for the Kharif season, said the source. The recommendations in this regard have been forwarded to IRSA’s advisory committee for the final approval. Meeting of the technical committee was conducted virtually, said the source. 
However, the source said that the shortage figure is not yet finalized owing to divergent views of Punjab and Sindh over the water losses during the upcoming season. The advisory committee will finalize shortages for the season, said the source. As per rule, IRSA’s technical committee determines the anticipated water availability and recommends draft anticipated water availability criteria with the total likely Rim-stations inflow to the advisory committee for the final approval. The advisory committee then finalizes the share of the provinces for the next season. It is worth mentioning here that for the ongoing Rabi season IRSA had approved an anticipated water shortage of 18 percent for the provinces. The Water Accord 1991 empowered IRSA to determine water availability in the country and provincial share twice a year, once for Kharif season and the other for Rabi season. Rabi season starts from October 1 and ends on March 31, while Kharif starts from April 1 and continues till September 30. Since Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) were exempted from cuts in the share, the shortage of water would be distributed between Sindh and the Punjab.