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Governor's
remarks irk Sindh farmers
HYDERABAD-Sindh Governor Mohammadmian Soomro's remarks during
a meeting with the journalists at Karachi that "the Sindh
government is bound to support construction of Greater Thal
Canal because it has been mentioned in the Water Accord of
1991 which has been signed by the then provincial government"
has sparked a sharp reaction amongst the farming community
here.
First to react on the Governor's remarks was the general
council of Sindh Abadgar Board saying that there is no mention
of Thal Canal in the accord except under section 8 under which
there would be no restrictions on the provinces to undertake
new projects within their agreed shares.
They maintained that the section 9 further elaborates the
point that no restrictions are placed on small schemes not
exceeding 5000 acres above elevation of 1200 ft SPD. "Thal
Canal doesn't fall under the preview of the accord."
On the contrary, "it is a technical and legal violation of the
accord", they said and maintained that the Ecnec's approval of
the project contains legal and technical flaw. They are of the
view that since the Council of Common Interest does not exist
nor there is parliament to discuss the issue, "it is
therefore, requested that a board should be constituted
comprising leading lawyers, retired technocrats and members of
leading farmers organisations to study the legal and
constitutional position of the project and till then the
project should be placed in abeyance".
The other major farmers' organisation-Sindh Chamber of
Agriculture -is engaged in documenting the entire record with
reference to the Thal Canal to send a representation to
President Pervez Musharraf on behalf of the growers of the
province opposing the project.
Meanwhile, the Ponam also issued a strong-worded protest
against the Thal Canal project and the Governor's remarks,
which they said, are not based on facts and are detrimental to
the interest of the people of Sindh.
courtesy Daily
Business Recorder ,
23
April, 2002
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Pakissan.com;
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