Faisalabad Declares Zero Tolerance for Canal Water Theft, 23 FIRs Registered

Key Points:

Faisalabad has declared zero tolerance for canal water theft and stepped up joint operations by the district administration, the Irrigation Department and the police
The meeting was told that 23 FIRs have been registered since October 15, while more than 1,000 cases were registered in older complaints
The deputy commissioner said fair distribution of canal water and supply to the tail end is the basic right of farmers and negligent officials will face action
The city police officer said video recording of the spot, geo-tagging and witness statements must be made part of every case
Joint patrolling will be made effective in sensitive canal areas and departmental accountability has begun against officials involved in theft or negligence

FAISALABAD: Faisalabad has declared zero tolerance for canal water theft and decided to intensify joint operations by the district administration, the Irrigation Department and the police to protect farmers’ water rights.

The decision came at a meeting chaired by Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Nauman Siddiq, Additional Secretary Irrigation Usman Khalid and City Police Officer Tanveer Hussain. The meeting reviewed prevention of water theft, monitoring of the canal system and supply to the tail end.

The drive follows Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s vision of fair distribution of canal water and protection of farmers’ rights across Punjab.

The meeting was told that 23 FIRs had been registered after October 15 on the orders of the Chief Secretary Punjab. More than 1,000 cases had also been registered in older complaints with the cooperation of the district administration and the police.

Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Nauman Siddiq said fair distribution of canal water and supply to the tail end was the basic right of farmers. He said every department shared the responsibility of protecting that right.

He ordered regular inspection of canal channels and outlets and immediate legal action wherever theft was detected. He said negligent officials would also face action, while the district administration would monitor the campaign with both departments.

Additional Secretary Irrigation Usman Khalid said rotational programmes had been prepared according to the availability of water. He said a weekly inspection schedule for sub-divisional officers and executive engineers had been issued and irrigation field teams were active.

City Police Officer Tanveer Hussain said: “Solid evidence is essential for effective legal action.” He said video recording of the spot, geo-tagging, complete details of the site and witness statements must be made part of the cases.

Solid evidence is essential for effective legal action.

He said the contact numbers of irrigation focal persons should be shared with the police and joint patrolling should be made effective in sensitive canal areas. He said every police station’s mobile would be nominated for joint patrol with the irrigation officers concerned.

The meeting agreed to seek the cooperation of numberdars and local notables in identifying water theft in rural areas and to widen the scope of random checking. An awareness campaign was under way through panaflexes, banners, social media, print media and mosque announcements.

Departmental accountability has also begun against irrigation and police officials found involved in water theft or negligent in their duty. The meeting warned of indiscriminate legal action against anyone stealing canal water, making illegal cuts or tampering with outlets.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Social Services Arshad Iqbal, Assistant Commissioners Faisal Shahzad, Aqsa and Haleema Munir, Superintending Engineer Irrigation Samar Iqbal and Yasir Saleem also attended the meeting.