To resolve the water dispute among the provinces, the government is launching a project for the installation of a telemetry system at various sites across the Indus Basin irrigation system at an estimated cost of Rs. 1,960.715 million.
A telemetry system measures the flow and passage of water at various points in rivers and canals.
Seven key sites (transfer points) out of the total 24 sites have been initially calibrated to install the telemetry system, official documents available with ProPakistani reveal. Furthermore, execution on the remaining 17 sites will be carried out once their calibration process is completed.
Under the proposed financing mechanism, Rs. 500 million is to be sponsored by the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) through its resources, while Rs. 1,461 million is proposed to be provided through the next Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), out of which Rs. 730.751 million will be in Foreign Exchange Component (FEC).
The Ministry of Water Resources and IRSA have tasked the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) with the preparation of the PC-1 and implementation of the Telemetry System Installation Project at 7 key locations as deposit work. The project is expected to be completed in three years.
The project is based on the state-of-the-art design of a real-time flow measurement system, and subsequently, its installation, testing, and commissioning at seven key locations/barrages of the Indus Basin irrigation system. It will provide flow monitoring data through the establishment of a main real-time data center and regional data centers for the key stakeholders to access and use the information.
The project aims to establish an accurate, transparent water accounting, auditing, and distribution flow monitoring system for efficient management of the Indus Basin Irrigation System (IBIS). The project would also ensure the availability of online and accurate information on water availability and flow information at barrages/dams and allied barrages, which is transmitted to all concerned authorities in parallel.
The project would maintain databases at each location, which could subsequently be used for analysis, planning, and producing suitable data for multiple purposes, including auditing.