PESHAWAR – A new canal planned under the Green Pakistan project has sparked interprovincial tensions in Pakistan, as officials in Sindh and other provinces raise concerns over water distribution and transparency in a country already grappling with chronic water shortages.
The federal minister for water resources, Mian Muhammad Moeen Wattoo, says the issue is being blown out of proportion, attributing the dispute to a lack of consultation and misunderstanding. He insists that the canal, which is set to pass through the Cholistan Desert in Punjab, will only draw from Punjab’s allocated water under the 1991 interprovincial water-sharing formula.
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“This is not about taking anyone’s water,” Wattoo told Dawn News in Lahore. “The Green Pakistan project aims to improve irrigation and agricultural potential across provinces, and the water will be distributed strictly according to agreed formulas.”
The federal government has committed to building five new canals under the initiative — two in Punjab, two in Sindh, and one in Balochistan. But the Cholistan canal has faced resistance, particularly from Sindh, where lawmakers fear Punjab may end up drawing more than its fair share.
To ease those concerns, Wattoo said the government has introduced a telemetry monitoring system to track provincial water usage in real time. “No province can take more than it is entitled to. Every drop will be accounted for.”
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The Green Pakistan project, launched as part of a broader environmental and agricultural strategy, is being pitched as a solution to long-term water management and food security issues. But the current dispute highlights just how politically sensitive water infrastructure remains in Pakistan.
Wattoo also addressed the separate issue of the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project, which remains shut down due to structural failures. “The damage is costing the country 42bn rupees annually [around $150mn US dollars],” he said, adding that a high-level committee, headed by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, is investigating the collapse and will determine responsibility.
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With climate change accelerating the retreat of glaciers and putting pressure on already scarce resources, disputes like this are expected to become more common. For now, the future of the Cholistan canal — and by extension, the Green Pakistan project — may depend not just on engineering, but on trust between provinces.
