Environment vs. Infrastructure: The Cholistan Canal Project Debate

“We will continue fighting against these canals and won’t let the state kill us by thirst.” — Wajahat Hussain, Sindhi human-rights lawyer, at a March 2025 protest

1. What Is the Cholistan Canal Project?

| Fact Sheet (2025) | Details | | --------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Parent Plan | Green Pakistan Initiative (GPI) – a $3.3 billion federal programme launched Feb 2025 | | Scope | 176 km canal + 2 branch canals to divert 4,120 cusecs of water | | Goal | Irrigate 1.2 million acres (≈ 4,800 km²) of the Cholistan Desert | | Timeline | Construction started Feb 2025 → completion targeted 2030 | | Cost | $783 million (≈ Rs 218 billion) |

2. The Promise—Why Islamabad Says “Build It”

• Food Security: Add 2.5 million tons of wheat & cotton annually, cutting $1 billion import bill.
• Export Boost: Projected $25–35 billion textile export revenue.
• Job Creation: 200,000 direct & 600,000 indirect jobs in South Punjab.
• Water Source Logic: 4 months flood surplus + 8 months regulated releases from Indus Basin Irrigation System (IBIS).

3. The Pushback—Environmental & Social Fault-Lines

🌊 Water Wars

| Stakeholder | Fear | | ----------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Sindh (Lower Riparian) | Loss of 70% of its irrigation water; 2.2 million ha delta farmland turning saline | | Indus Delta | <1 million acre-feet now reach the sea vs 80 million MAF in 1900—mangroves & fisheries collapsing | | WWF-Pakistan | Soil salinisation, biodiversity loss (houbara bustard, caracal) |

🏜️ Desert Ecology at Risk

• Endangered species: Chinkara gazelle, desert fox, houbara bustard.
• Groundwater over-pumping feared once surface water proves unreliable.

🗳️ Political Fallout

| Date | Event | | --------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 13 Mar 2025 | Sindh Assembly passes resolution against GPI | | 10 Apr 2025 | PTI submits resolution in National Assembly demanding CCI review | | End-Apr 2025| Construction put on hold pending Council of Common Interests (CCI) consensus |

4. Governance & Legal Gaps

| Instrument | Status | | -------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 1991 Water Apportionment Accord | Mandates 10 MAF downstream Kotri—never enforced | | Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) | No public EIA released; WWF calls for comprehensive socio-environmental study | | CCI Approval | Required for inter-provincial projects—yet to be tabled |

5. Voices on the Ground

| Who | Quote | | ------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr., activist | “This is not a people-centred initiative. It’s a for-profit scheme for cash-crop irrigation.” | | Maj-Gen (r) Shahid Nazir, GPI Director-General | “Our top priority is to produce enough wheat domestically.” | | Hammad Naqi Khan, WWF-Pakistan | “Large-scale irrigation without strategic planning could exacerbate water insecurity.” |

6. Possible Pathways Forward

| Scenario | Likelihood | Key Actions | | ------------------------- | ------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | | Full Build (current plan) | Low without CCI consensus | CCI vote, revised EIA, Sindh compensation package | | Scaled-Back Pilot | Medium | 200,000 acres only, smart irrigation (drip, solar pumps) | | Halt & Rethink | Rising | National water summit, glacier-melt adaptation projects instead |

7. What Citizens Can Do This Week

1. Track CCI agenda: cci.gov.pk
2. Join Sindh-Punjab water dialogues: #SaveIndusDelta Twitter Spaces every Friday
3. Offset water footprint: Install low-flow taps (cuts household use 30%)

“The canal is a straw in a river that’s already gasping. If we sip without measuring, we may drown the delta—and with it, millions of livelihoods.”