Monitors dispute figures about breaches` length

HYDERABAD, March 29: The parliamentary committee, appointed to monitor ongoing work on rehabilitation of flood-ravaged irrigation network in Sindh, has disputed figures provided by the irrigation department about total length of breaches that occurred in dykes of River Indus and banks of canal during last summer`s flood. President Asif Ali Zardari has formed the six-member body led by MPA Dr Ahmed Ali Shah. Sindh Irrigation Secretary Rafiq Memon says that exact figure of length of the breaches would be available in a week after a survey which is under way. The body frequently submits its audit report to the president after its visits to flood-hit areas in Sindh. After visits to Thatta, Jamshoro, Larkana and Dadu districts, the committee says in the second report that according to irrigation officials, length of the flood-hit area was 592 kilometres. But, the assessment/survey which was conducted by the committee through a government agency calculated the length just 173km. "The irrigation department`s figure is 80 per cent exaggerated, which is likely to reflect badly on government`s spending," it said. According to Karachi-based Sindh Assembly sources, the committee got its own verification done by programme monitoring unit (PMU) of the National Programme for Improvement of Watercourses (NPIW). Officials of the Sindh irrigation department had given a briefing to members of Sindh Assembly in Karachi last month about devastations caused by flood last summer and resultant damages to canal breaches. Sources close to the committee told Dawn that members had raised another point that was again related to payment of money to contractors. For instance, they quoted example of plugging of breaches in the embankment of Manchhar Lake for which soil was being collected from 14km away, but local people said that soil was available at a small distance. And the soil being used is wet which won`t lead to compaction in bund, according to the people. Soil for this purpose is to be collected from the area which is called `borrow area` because according to irrigation officials, it is essential that the content of soil must match with that of the damaged embankment. "The contractor is collecting the soil from far away place to claim heavy bill," said the sources. A source, after going through the report, said that irrigation officials did not supervise works and were totally oblivious of consequences of their attitude because most of shortcomings noted by the committee had to be addressed by engineers primarily. The committee recommended that contractors who were habitual of going into litigation after doing 50 per cent of work should be discouraged. This way they make additional money. Assembly sources pointed out that the committee members did not want to build pressure on irrigation officials as far as exaggerated claim of damages and transparency was concerned so that contractors might not suspend work. "The committee will then be blamed for suspension of work at this crucial stage when flooding season is just three months away. Therefore, it is taking things lightly," sources said. They said that the committee wanted early completion of works and all breaches plugged at major sites like Molchand Surjani Bund at Kot Almo in Thatta district and Tori Bund near Kandhkot. Irrigation officials did not provide estimates of works to committee members which was otherwise necessary for transparency, the sources said. Everyone from the Sindh chief minister to the irrigation minister is emphasising transparency in works but the way irrigation officials dealt with the committee members, belonging to treasury benches, has given an otherwise impression. "The committee`s report might not have covered distributaries or minors that were damaged in floods. I think both figures (of damaged area) of 552km and 173km are not correct," the irrigation secretary insisted. According to him, actual measurement would be about the breach of site against which payment would be made. He said that there were minors and distributaries washed away by floods completely.