Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.31
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
One hundred Iranian MPs have proposed a plan to the administration, according to which, water from the Caspian Sea will be transferred to the provinces of North Khorasan, South Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi, Semnan, and Golestan.
The reduction of underground and surface waters in east and northeast of the country, the rising population and the industrial development of the region, are the main reasons of proposing the plan, Iran's Fars news agency reported on October 31.
Abdorreza Azizi, chairman of the Iranian parliament's social committee, said the plan will not harm the Caspian Sea's ecology.
Meanwhile, Iran's Environment Protection Organization has opposed the water transfer from the Caspian Sea to central parts of the country. The organization's director Masoumeh Ebtekar said on September 20 that no agreement has been reached in this regard so far.
Iran is located in an arid zone, and the drought of 1992-2002 caused a major blow to agriculture. There were quotas imposed for fresh water in several cities, including the capital Tehran.
The main problem is the mismanagement of water resources, Ebtekar said, adding that there is no appropriate pattern for the use of water in the agriculture sector.
In October 2012, the Iranian energy ministry received the permission to transfer water from the Caspian Sea to central parts of the country.
In December 2013, the Mehr News Agency quoted Iranian deputy energy minister Sattar Mahmoudi as saying that Iran has finished preliminary studies for transferring water from the Caspian Sea to inland.
Some 200 million cubic meters of water is projected to be transferred per year to the central parts of the country for drinking and industrial purposes, according to the official.
In April 2013, ex-Energy Minister Majid Namjou said that the required budget, which is about 20 trillion rials (about $620 million), has been provided, he said, adding that the project will be completed by March 2016.
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