ISLAMABAD: About 5, 237 watercourses improvement projects besides construction work of 1, 439 water courses has been completed during the current fiscal year under Prime Minister National Agriculture Emergency Program, “Conserve and increase Productivity of Water”.
Likewise, 1, 975 Laser Land Levellers have been distributed among the beneficiaries across the country for land levelling to ensure efficient use of irrigation water as well as evolving best water management practices to reduce the cost of production, said an official in the Ministry of National Food Security and Research.
The watercourses would help ensure water conservation to bring maximum land under crop production, he said while talking to reporter here on Monday adding, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, all efforts were made to fully protect the on-going water sector development programs during fiscal year 2020-21
He further informed that it was expected that about 22 on-going projects costing Rs124 billion would be completed by the end of current fiscal year, resulting in bringing about 40 thousand acres area under cultivation especially in Balochistan Province.
Meanwhile, he said about 1.567 million acres of agriculture land protected from water logging and salinity by completion of Right Bank Outfall Drain -I (RBOD)& III in Sindh, meanwhile, rainwater harvesting of 0.21 Million Acre Feet (MAF) through construction of small dams for irrigation, flood protection and drinking water supplies for more than 10, 000 people in Balochistan would also be completed under the program.
The initiative, he said, would also help in employment generation for about 10, 000 people (direct or indirect), recharging 1, 000 wells, tube wells and improvement of about 400 Karezes in Balochistan, adding that around Rs 46 billion allocated for construction of large and medium dams followed by Rs10 billion for construction of small, recharge and check dams.
Besides, safe disposal of drainage effluent into sea through construction of RBOD-I, II & III as well as remodelling of existing irrigation system, a sum of Rs 961 million is planned to be expended and gradually transferred to the provinces, he added.
About Rs 6.84 billion are expected to be incurred for construction of new canals including Kachhi, Rainee, Warsak and Maki Farash Link Canal, he said.
Implementation of water management projects launched during fiscal year 2020 under the Prime Minister’s Agriculture Emergency Program to Conserve and increase Productivity of Water also continued during fiscal year 2021, he added.