ABSTRACT

In 1960, through the arbitration of the World Bank, the Indus Basin Treaty was signed which allocated water rights on three eastern rivers to India and three western rivers to Pakistan. A series of high-level commissions were formed and the matter was settled through the Water Apportionment Accord of 1991, which provided a season-wise share to each province. The Water and Power Development Authority is responsible for construction and operations and maintenance of the big, multi-purpose reservoirs and interprovincial link canals. The large investments and proposed institutional reforms carried a mixed record of success, although meeting to a large extent food security needs but failed to add the expected value that water can add to the economy. The solution lies in introducing and implementing better regulations to tackle point and non-point pollution – proper treatment of sewage and industrial toxic waste necessary to improve the water quality.