The Flood Inquiry Commission submitted its final report in the Supreme Court on Monday revealing that the negligence of Irrigation departments of Sindh and Balochistan caused a colossal loss of Rs 855 billion to the national economy during last year’s devastating flood. The report was taken up by a three-member SC bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Tariq Parvez and Justice Amir Hani Muslim, which was hearing a case pertaining to unauthorised diversion of floodwater and wilful breaches in the embankments of barrages and canals by the influential people to save their lands during the devastating floods of July 2010.
The court ordered that the report be translated into Urdu and made public. It held that the orders for implementation of the recommendations made by the commission in its report would be announced today (Tuesday).According to the report, 1,600 people lost their lives and thousands were injured. Almost 4.5 million people lost their jobs, mostly in the agriculture sector, besides Rabi crops for 2010-11 being badly affected. Around 20 million people were internally displaced and 7.0 million students were deprived of their academic session. It said the encroachments contributed to obstructions in the flow of water resulting in flooding of many areas. The Flood Inquiry Commission, headed by Muhammad Azam Khan and comprising Fateh Khan Khajjak, AW Kazi and Zaheer Ahmed ,was formed by the SC to investigate the damages caused by last year’s flood.
“Thousands of acres of ‘katcha’ land have been illegally encroached upon by local influential or have been leased out on nominal charges resulting in erection of private dykes. Construction of houses and other built up properties has been allowed along river banks and canals. The local and provincial governments have themselves indulged in encouraging illegal acts promoting encroachments”, the report said.
The commission recommended that it should be ensured that all the illegally constructed structures on government lands, which had been destroyed by the recent floods, should not be allowed to be re-erected. It noted that some governments sell out their acquired lands in pond areas to raise revenues, while under the law no construction of any infrastructure is allowed within a distance of 200 feet from banks of the river.
Had Munda Dam been constructed, there would have been minimal damage downstream in Charsadda, Peshawar and Nowshera districts and Munda Headworks, the report noted and indicated that Tori Bund had not been repaired for the last many years.
According to the report, the flood loss was estimated at 5.8 percent of the total GDP and about 20 million people faced the acute shortage of food, while 3.5 children’s education and 4.5 million people’s livelihood was affected by the floods.
The report said the embankments breached due to the negligence and corruption of the Irrigation Department. Local influential people had encroached upon thousands of acres of land. Among those directly responsible for the deluge of Guddu were the chief engineer, in-charge XEN and their staff, the report said.
It said major damage occurred due to lack of maintenance and repair of river embankments, canals and obstruction by major highways/motorways constructed by the Irrigation Department and the National Highway Authority (NHA) and others across the country. The report said the flood-affected people were not given help on time. “There are only seven Radars in the entire country. There is no coverage in the northwest of the country and Balochistan, including the coastal belt of 960 km”, the report pointed out.
It is imperative for the NHA and the Federal Flood Commission (FFC) to carry out a joint survey and study of the roads network in the country to identify areas of possible flooding as a result of obstruction caused by these roads and take remedial measures to ease the pressure of flood at various potential locations, the report said. It said although the role of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was outstanding in coordination and rescue in the relief phases, it did not put in position pre-disaster structural framework or administrative network it was mandated in 2006.
The Supreme Court had taken suo motu notice into the matter on the letters of lawyer Fakhruddin G Ebrahim, Senate’s Deputy Chairman Jan Muhammad Khan Jamali, Dr Asad Leghari, Rahim Baloch and advocate Zahida Thebo.
Later PML-Q MNA Marvi Memon had also filed a petition on the matter. Marvi requested the court to order the government to explain the reasons behind breaches in the dykes, canals and other irrigation infrastructure in Sindh and Balochistan during the floods.
