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Cabinet officials

Islamabad Parliamentary Panel Urges Attention to Water Scarcity as City Faces Growing Shortage

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

As Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, continues to grow rapidly, its residents are struggling with a pressing issue: water scarcity. A recent parliamentary panel meeting, chaired by MNA Khurram Nawaz, highlighted the urgent need to address this problem, which has been exacerbated by years of neglect. The panel expressed concern over the billions of rupees spent on road-related projects by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) without adequately addressing the basic issue of residents' water needs.

Key Takeaways:

  • The CDA has been spending billions of rupees on road-related projects without seriously focusing on addressing the water shortage in Islamabad, affecting around 2.5 million residents.
  • The city relies on three main water sources: Simly Dam, Khanpur Dam, and tubewells, but the water level has been depleting, and no new water source has been explored since the 1990s.
  • The population of Islamabad has grown from approximately 600,000 in the 1990s to over 2.5 million today, while the CDA's water supply has failed to keep pace.
  • Long-term solutions, including the Ghazi Barotha water project, estimate a capacity to provide 100 million gallon per day water to Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
  • The construction of Chirah Dam also came under discussion as a potential solution to the water crisis.
  • Despite the announcement of a rural areas development package in 2023, the work was halted halfway, and the CDA chairman assured the committee that funds had been released and work had begun on priority projects.
  • The committee directed the CDA chairman to submit details on the poor service delivery in rural union councils and to initiate an inquiry into the alleged corruption in the maintenance of Parliament Lodges.

Statistics:

  • The estimated population of Islamabad in the 1990s was approximately 600,000.
  • The current estimated population of Islamabad is around 2.5 million.
  • The CDA receives an average of 70 million gallons per day (mgd) water from Simly Dam, Khanpur Dam, and tubewells to meet the need of 220 mgd of the urban population.
  • The Ghazi Barotha water project is estimated to cost Rs100 billion.
  • Six roads projects, halted in 2022, are expected to be completed before June 30, with a total of 12 roads to be completed.

Sources:

  • "Pakistan: Islamabad Panel Urges Attention to Water Scarcity." Dawn. N.p., 8 Dec. 2023.
  • "Islamabad: Parliamentary Panel Holds Informal Meeting on Water Crisis." The Express Tribune. N.p., 10 Dec. 2023.
  • "CDA Spends Billions on Roads, Neglects Water Scarcity in Islamabad." The News International. N.p., 12 Dec. 2023.

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