ISLAMABAD: In a bid to settle the controversy surrounding new canals proposed on the Indus River, the Council of Common Interests (CCI) convened on Monday, and decided that the project should not proceed until mutual understanding among provinces was achieved.

The meeting came almost a week after the government and the PPP decided to postpone the project amid protests in Sindh and grievances expressed by the PPP a coalition partner in the Centre regarding the impact of the initiative on the lower riparian.

In that meeting, it was decided that the CCI would convene to decide the matter. Initially, it had been slated for May 2, but the meeting was moved to April 28 at the PPP`s request.

Late night media reports claimed that a notification had been issued, following the CCI meeting. But there was no official word until going to press.

However, in a statement issued after the meeting attended by all four chief ministers on Monday, the council said it decided to form a technical committee to address the issue. According to the PM Office, the CCI unanimously decided to halt the canals project till its fate was decided by the technical committee.

`To allay the concerns of all provinces and to ensure Pakistan`s food and ecological security, a committee is being formed with representation from the federation and all provinces,` the meeting decided.

The committee will propose solutions to Pakistan`s long-term agriculture needs and water use of all provinces in line with the two consensus documents (Water Apportionment Accord 1991 andWater Policy 2018), the meeting agreed.

The CCI also endorsed that `the federal government has decided that no new canals will be built without mutual understanding from CCI. It has beendecided that the federal government will not move further until mutual understanding is evolved among the provinces` The government will engage all provincial governments to chart out a long-term consensus roadmap for the development of agriculture policy and water management infrastructure across Pakistan, the meeting decided. It added that water rights of all provinces were enshrined in the Water Apportionment Accord 1991 and Water Policy 2018, with the consensus of all stakeholders.

In its decision, the CCI said, `In view of the above, after deliberations, the council decided that the provisional Ecnec approval dated Feb 7, 2024, for construction of new canals and the Irsa water availability certificate issued in its meeting dated Jan 17, 2024, be returned.` Also, the planning division and the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) were directed as per CCI consensus to ensure consultation with all stakeholders, in the interest of national cohesion and to address any and all concerns until mutual understanding was reached.

During the meeting, CCI`s reports for the years 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 were also presented. The reports of the state of industry for the year 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 were also placed before the CCI.

The meeting also approved the CCI Secretariat Recruitment Rules.

Last week, the federal government had decided that no new canals would be built without mutual understanding from the CCI and called the council`s meeting on May 2. The decision was made in a meeting on April 24 between the government side and a PPP delegation.

`Next meeting soon` Later, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah told reporters said the PM assured all members of the CCI that he would call the next meeting of the council in a few days. The CCI has reportedly agreed to take up the issue of development funds of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in its next meeting.

Although the government has not announced the formation of the technical committee on the canals issue, the Sindh CM said it will be a six-member committee will be formed soon.

The Sindh CM said the Feb 7 decision by the Ecnec regarding new canals was deferred. About corporate farming in Sindh, he said the provincial government was in favour of the initiative if it aimed to cultivate barren lands. `The PPP [provincial] government itself will launch a project of corporate farming to cultivate unproductive and infertile land in Sindh,` he added.

Regarding the blocking of highways in Sindh by nationalist parties, the CM Shah said: `We know that blocking of roads caused trouble to the commuters, in fact, we wanted to resolve the canals` issue altogether.`