KARACHI: The Sindh government has strongly opposed key provisions in the proposed amendments to the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) Act, warning that the changes would significantly dilute the Water Apportionment Accord of 1991 and undermine provincial representation in the country’s top water regulatory body.
According to documents available with The News, the draft amendments were circulated after a meeting held at Aiwan-e-Sadr on July 8, 2024. The Ministry of Water Resources was subsequently asked to process the legislation. However, Member IRSA (Sindh) has submitted a detailed rebuttal, terming many of the proposed clauses “unconstitutional and prejudicial to federal equity.”
The Sindh member has cautioned that several amendments attempt to shift decisive powers from the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and provincial cabinets to the Prime Minister, thereby reducing the collective federal character of IRSA.
The Sindh member has cautioned that several amendments attempt to shift decisive powers from the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and provincial cabinets to the Prime Minister, thereby reducing the collective federal character of IRSA.
As per objections prepared by the Sindh government on proposed legislatory amendments in IRSA ACt, any change to the said Act should be done with full consultation of all provinces, the Sindh member stated, arguing that the original consensus-based governance model of the ‘1991 Accord’ is being replaced with centralised authority.
The Sindh government has key concerns over the appointment of the Chairman of IRSA. The new draft gives the sole authority of appointing the IRSA Chairman to the Prime Minister, removing the existing mechanism of provincial rotation, a principle rooted directly in the 1991 Accord.
Sindh maintains that the amendments effectively curb provincial oversight by empowering federal nominees and introducing co-opted members without proportional provincial checks.
Several technical functions traditionally performed by IRSA are sought to be transferred to an “Independent Experts Committee,” which Sindh fears could sideline provincial engineers and irrigation experts, the Sindh government observes.
The proposed amendments seek to give the Chairman discretion to appoint staff, consultants and ex-officio members, a move Sindh argues could tilt institutional balance.
Besides, as per the Sindh member of IRSA’s written comments, which warn that the proposed law would “undo decades of trust-building” and risk reopening historical water grievances between provinces.
“The 1991 Accord is the product of inter-provincial consensus, not unilateral legislation,” the Sindh member wrote, stressing that the strength of IRSA lies in equal voting rights despite variation in allocated shares.
Sindh also noted that Punjab and Sindh together account for almost 117.35 MAF of annual water flows, yet the proposed structure undermines equitable representation and oversight.
The Water Apportionment Accord of 1991 is widely regarded as one of Pakistan’s most significant consensus documents, which peacefully resolved inter-provincial disputes over river distribution after decades of negotiation. Under the Accord, IRSA was founded as a neutral technocratic body ensuring fair execution of provincial water shares.
Sindh argues that the current amendments disregard this federal spirit and could alter the original implementation mechanism without CCI approval.
The draft is currently with the Ministry of Water Resources for further processing. Sindh has shared its objections both with the federal authorities and with the IRSA Secretariat.
Officials of the Sindh government are of the view that amendments to federal water laws ordinarily require CCI oversight under Article 154 of the Constitution, meaning the federal cabinet cannot unilaterally amend the statute without full provincial concurrence.
The Sindh government is expected to formally convey its objections through the Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Division in the coming days.
