An entirely new unified water law is on the anvil to govern the water sector in Sindh. The idea is to run the sector more effectively and efficiently, and to address, institutionally, the fast-emerging challenges of disaster mitigation, climate change, and environmental issues.
The draft of the new law is under preparation, primarily at the Sindh Irrigation Department (SID). It would be a broader legal instrument to regulate water-related components, from canal commands to drainage, groundwater aquifers, and wetlands. It was being drafted in the light of the Sindh Water and Agricultural Transformation (SWAT) project, a multi-million-dollar World Bank (WB) funded project that is already underway.
The new water law aims to merge the over 150-year-old, colonial-era Sindh Irrigation Act 1879 and Sindh Water Management Ordinance (SWMO) 2002. This would also eventually decide the fate of the Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (SIDA), which was an offshoot of SWMO 2002.
The SWMO was introduced under WB-led intervention in Sindh in the shape of SIDA, established to promote a participatory irrigation system by ensuring farmer-led elected set-ups in the canal command areas of each of Sindh’s three barrages. The ordinance had also substituted the Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (SIDA) Act 1997.
A new provincial law aims to merge century-old irrigation rules into a single framework to tackle climate change and ease management
Since then, two parallel irrigation systems have existed in Sindh. SIDA then produced the Farmers Organisation (FO) and the Area Water Board (AWBs) for the regulation of irrigation supplies and recovery of water charges, ie, abiyana. Three independent AWBs — Ghotki (Guddu barrage), Nara (Sukkur barrage) and the Left Bank Canals (Kotri barrage) — out of 14 canals that emanate from these barrages, were also created within SIDA, having elected representation in addition to officers.
SIDA remained an autonomous body, having been led by managing directors (MDs) — mostly from SID. A full-fledged SIDA headquarters/secretariat was also built in Hyderabad, reflecting a corporate sector style environment quite unlike the provincial irrigation department.
SIDA executed WB-funded programmes like the Water Sector Improvement Project or WSIP, which has been completed and was projected as a success story by SIDA. The SID was also executing multiple foreign-funded programmes in irrigation networks, besides handling flood management and drainage networks.
Both SID and SIDA had, historically, not been on the same wavelength over the last two decades, with the latter blaming the former for undermining its authority. SID has its own axe to grind and doesn’t believe SIDA has failed to improve its recovery abiyana (water charges) through AWBs. The Sindh Water Policy 2023 made a point that the “dual management of canals would not lead the province anywhere” — a clear reference to parallel irrigation management by SIDA and the irrigation department.
The new irrigation legislation would eventually decide the fate of SIDA, whether it would continue to enjoy its autonomy or would survive with a redefined role of ‘reforms directorate’. Similarly, the nomenclature of the Sindh Irrigation Department (SID), however, would be changed to “Sindh Water Resource Management Department” (SWRMD) with bigger responsibilities. These legal points, however, require the passage of a new law by the Sindh Assembly.
Key features of the proposed Sindh Water Resources Management Law seek to establish a comprehensive legal framework to cover water-related resources. It aims to strengthen participatory irrigation management while extending governance beyond irrigation to encompass environmental protection, water quality standards, and climate adaptation.
The law would introduce mechanisms for sustainable financing through the establishment of a Sindh Water Fund, and emphasize institutional and human resource development through the creation of a Sindh Water and Research Academy.
Furthermore, it proposes the establishment of a Reform Management Unit, mandated to coordinate all mega and foreign-funded water sector projects for the effective implementation of reforms. This unit is envisaged to perform regulatory, data management, water charges technical, and custodial functions, supporting evidence-based decision-making and sector-wide coherence.
The WB-funded SWAT had required, as mentioned in its concept paper, the formulation of a new water law to advance and adjust irrigation institutional reforms and principles initiated under SWMO 2022 based on experience gained under the WSIP. The new water law was to be drafted in line with the Sindh Water Policy that was adopted in July 2023 after having been approved by the provincial cabinet.
As per the SWAT, the goal of the new law was to advance and adjust the irrigation institutional reforms and principles initiated under SWMO 2002 based upon experience gained under WSIP. The new law would adjust the roles and responsibilities of the Irrigation Department, SIDA, AWB, FOs, and Water Course Associations (WCAs).
It said, “In addition, a new legal framework will establish an integrated water resources management for Sindh that will promote coordinated development and management of water, land, and related resources, to maximise economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems”.
The draft law was being prepared by a team involving representation from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, including a foreign expert, officers of SID and SIDA. The first draft of the proposed law was submitted to SID in June 2025, leading to the appointment of a Law Review Committee.
By 2025’s end, Sindh Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro chaired meetings and called for finalising and aligning the draft law with the objectives of the Sindh Water Policy. Those dealing with the draft law anticipate that the first draft of “Sindh Water Resource Management Law” would be shared with stakeholders for review and validation. The draft is likely to be readied by February 2026.
The proposed new law is going to cover all important aspects of irrigation and drainage with reference to water pricing and usage. They all are relating to water directly or indirectly to achieve an integrated management of the overall water sector, thus ensuring effective governance”, said Sindh Irrigation Secretary Zarif Iqbal Khero.
“We will hopefully have a broader and more integrated law to ensure better institutional reforms in the irrigation sector across Sindh”, he said.
Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, January 12th, 2026
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