The illegal water outlets in irrigation system of the province have been running for decades unchecked, Minute Mirror has learnt. Despite the political, economic and technical engineering involved in their running, the irrigation department continues to give its nod to these temporary water outlets to run. They are neither regularized nor closed for years.
Such water outlets are basically unauthorized openings in the tributaries that allow water to flow out, bypassing the regular irrigation system to the suffering of tail users. This water is then used for various purposes such as irrigation as well as commercial etc. Surprisingly, the department also collects abyana from farmers.
These are permanently installed in Punjab especially in Sargodha, Bahawalpur, DG Khan and other zones that are used to take water from canals for agriculture, said sources in the field formations. They, dozens in number, were once allowed in Sargodha zone to increase agri produce for a year or so. some individual cases were approved. However, inclusion process for all outlets could not be completed.
Now, Punjab government has imposed ban on water inclusion. However, some of these outlets are likely to be approved by the irrigation department. As per sources in the Sargodha zone of the irrigated Thal canal system, a such case of Muhajir Branch outlet out of 60 to 70 other such outlets has been under consideration for approval. The zone officials don’t like approval of inclusion when there is general ban on it. “The government should either sanction approval to all the illegally installed outlets or reject the cases of those who are politically connected” said a senior officer on anonymity. The Punjab Assembly should legislate on the issue of inclusion to reduce disparity among other farmers.
The main reason for the existence of all illegal outlets in canals is the manoeuvring of political bigwigs, administrative inefficiency and rampant corruption in the department machinery. Many times, poor farmers are made to pay a bribe to get a legal outlet ‘maintained’, even though it is not really necessary. As a result, many illegal outlets continue to operate without any check or regulation.
There have been a large number of applications for water inclusion, most of them from influential people with political connections. Despite a ban on water inclusion and opposition from several quarters including tail farmers, the irrigation department has been reportedly planning to approve some of these applications.
This, if happens, will only add to the corruption in the department and will be a major blow to the interests of ordinary farmers. It is high time that something is done to stop this rot and bring about transparency and accountability in the system. The Punjab Irrigation Department has though banned the inclusion of water, but this has not stopped illegal outlets from functioning in some parts of the province. In some areas, the use of these illegal outlets has become a tradition, and people are reluctant to stop using them.
“Such outlets have been operational in our area for many decades,” said Muhammad Tariq, a farmer from Sargodha. We want these outlets be regularized. “The officers demand hefty bribes for approval of the outlet” Tariq alleged. Irrigation officials, while commenting on the situation, say that the department should establish its anti-water theft force check posts along all major canals to stop the unauthorized use of water. Each violator could be fined up to Rs100,000 besides excluding from warabandi or imprisonment for up to six months. This would not only save water for extra yield but also curb trend of water theft from irrigation system.
