Nai Gaj Dam in doldrums! SC orders Sindh to given its share to WAPDA

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ordered the federal and provincial governments to release the funds required for construction of the Nai Gaj Dam.
The federal government says Sindh government has stopped funding the project which has stopped fresh water supplies to Machar Lake that has gone polluted.
Justice Gulzar Ahmed is heading the court’s bench and the petition is moved by senior counsel Rasheed A. Razvi.
The construction of the dam is blocking the inflow of a huge quantity of fresh water to Manchar lake is the issue which has brought the case in the apex court.
Wapda has proposed 50 cusecs of continued piped water supply to the lake from the dam. However, some people think otherwise.
The petition seeks a directive for the government to provide early funds for completion of the project as well as consider increasing up to 100 cusecs freshwater flows from the dam to Manchar Lake.
The court in its latest order has issued the directive to federal and the Sindh government to provide the Water and Power Development Authority the funds required or the dam’s construction.
The planning division and the Sindh water board secretary were also ordered to provide the court reports regarding the provision of funds.
The court expressed its displeasure saying the Sindh government does not intend to work at all; they don’t want [development] work to happen in the province.
The deputy attorney general said that the federal government was ready to provide its share of the funds for the project but the Sindh government did not give any response.
The judge then ordered the release of the funds so that construction could start and adjourned the hearing for a month.
Nai Gaj is a hill torrent which emanates from Khuzdar district of Balochistan and after passing through plains of Kutch it eventually enters Manchar lake. The Nai Gaj area remains dry for eight months and gets water in four months during monsoon season. After Manchar lake attains its peak level and no more remains in a position to receive water in monsoon season, water flows from Nai Gaj often devastate flood-protection bunds and inundate agricultural lands.
After inundating agricultural lands and devastating houses and standing crops, the monsoon water falls into the sea and, as such, a huge amount of water is wasted, the petition says.
Apart from serving as a continuous flow of fresh water to Manchar lake, which will improve the ecology of the lake, the Nai Gaj dam will also serve as a lifeline for the people of this mountainous region in Dadu district with the potential of changing their socio-economic conditions.n