Influential parties control water quotas..A government advisor calls for a review of agricultural po

[size=52]Influential parties control water quotas..A government advisor calls for a review of agricultural policy[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad / Hussein Hatem[/size]
[size=45]Although the Ministry of Water Resources has referred many files of abuses on rivers and streams to the courts, many of these abuses are still existing and imposed.[/size]
[size=45]Observers confirm that influential and beneficiary parties are behind these abuses, which in turn led to water scarcity and drought in rivers and streams, as they put it. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Water Resources stressed its continuation of work to remove abuses on rivers and streams in all governorates of the country.[/size]
[size=45]Spokesman for the Ministry of Water Resources, Aoun Diab, said in an interview with (Al Mada) that "there are many parties that benefit from the issue of abuses, behind which are political and governmental parties," noting that "there are those who benefit and those who are influential facilitate the task of encroaching on water quotas."[/size]
[size=45]Diab added, "The Ministry of Water Resources rejects all abuses," noting that his ministry "referred many of them to the courts."[/size]
[size=45]A spokesperson for the water resources indicated that “the encroachments on rivers and streams have many dimensions, represented by a violation of the law (..).”[/size]
[size=45]Diab went on to say, "We have worked to remove some of the abuses from the Shatt al-Hilla in the province of Babil," adding, "We are still continuing to remove the abuses in the rest of the provinces, in addition to developing rivers and establishing appropriate corridors."[/size]
[size=45]Earlier, the Ministry of Water Resources announced operations to remove the excesses from the Shatt al-Hilla column in Babylon.[/size]
[size=45]In a statement received by Al-Mada, the ministry stated that "the Minister of Water Resources, Mahdi Rashid Al-Hamdani, supervised in the field the work to remove the abuses from the Shatt Al-Hilla column in the province of Babil."[/size]
[size=45]According to the statement, the minister said, "The work to remove abuses is carried out in accordance with the legal frameworks, and the ministry has given several deadlines before starting the campaign to remove abuses." He added that "removing the excesses from the Shatt al-Hilla column comes within the ministry's plan to develop the river," as the minister directed "the continuation of the campaign to remove the abuses," noting that "this campaign aims to preserve the design sections of streams and rivers and improve the quantity and quality of water."[/size]
[size=45]The spokesperson for the water resources called on local governments to "cooperate and take their role in preserving rivers and streams and reject all kinds of abuses."[/size]
[size=45]Diab believes that "it is also a violation of throwing sewage waste into rivers, which in turn leads to the destruction of the river environment."[/size]
[size=45]In turn, the advisor and water expert, Adel Al-Mukhtar, said in an interview with (Al-Mada), that "the river violations clearly affected the revenues, as they appeared with a noticeable decrease recently," calling on "the Ministry of Water Resources to tighten penalties against violators and refer them to the courts."[/size]
[size=45]And at the end of last January, the Ministry of Water Resources confirmed that it is continuing to remove the excesses on the rivers by order of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi. The Minister of Water Resources, Mahdi Rashid Al-Hamdani, said at the time, “The most important challenges facing the ministry’s campaign to remove the abuses on the rivers are the claims of some of the transgressors that they are influential and have authority and belong to some parties.”[/size]
[size=45]The minister added that "the violators took advantage of the vacuum that occurred in Iraq after 2003 as well as the year 2014 and claimed that they were among the influential and took control of some water quotas," noting that "the ministry is working on strategic projects, set in time to end these abuses completely."[/size]
[size=45]He continued, "The abuses have drained the state and water and cannot be allowed," noting that "the ministry has started a campaign, with the support of the Prime Minister, to remove it." Al-Hamdani stressed that "removing the bypass means preserving the life and property of the transgressor and protecting Baghdad and other governorates from any drowning that may occur," noting that "the recent flood in Sudan was caused by abuses."[/size]
[size=45]Adel Al-Mukhtar believes that "reducing abuses is through rationalizing water consumption, and using modern irrigation systems," noting that "the use of modern irrigation systems leads to the emptying of 50% of the quantities of water and contributes to reducing abuses."[/size]
[size=45]The water expert points out that “the abuse of water quotas has caused water scarcity and drought as a result of declining water levels and the expansion of agriculture at the expense of water quotas.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Mukhtar stressed "the need to reconsider the agricultural policy," noting that "70% of water revenues go to agriculture."[/size]
[size=45]The government advisor agrees with Diab that “there are influential parties that stand behind the issue of encroachments on rivers and streams (..).”[/size]
[size=45]In addition, the mayor of Baqubah district, Abdullah Al-Hayali, called on Monday to refer the file of abuses on rivers and streams to a security force from Baghdad.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Hayali said, "The phenomenon of abuse is still the master of the situation, which is carried out by multiple and influential parties." He added that "the abuse of water quotas is more dangerous than drought and will create very complex problems," calling for "the file to remove abuses be entrusted to a security force from Baghdad, to be far from any pressure in implementing the law."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that "most rivers and streams suffer from the phenomenon of abuse, which is a direct cause of the complexity of the drought scene, which causes a crisis of thirst for the regions," noting that "without the real application of the vocabulary of the law, a disaster will occur, because the crisis is not temporary in light of Iran's construction of dams on the common rivers, which will lead to To the almost complete decline of the water flowing towards Iraqi territory, and the next stage will be very difficult.”[/size]
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