HYDERABAD:The Director General Federal Water Management Cell Kifayat uz Zaman has said under Prime Minister Agriculture Emergency Program the government is preparing a national policy for fixing irrigation water tariff.
The DG accompanied by the irrigation expert Ali Raza Naqvi met official of Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (SIDA) in this regard at the latter’s office here Monday.
Zaman said he was reaching out to all the stakeholders so that he could prepare a review report to precede the preparation of the national policy.
The Managing Director of SIDA Preetam Das apprised the federal officials that there were 3 barrages and 14 canals in the province.
He added that 10 of those canals were being operated by the Sindh Irrigation Department and 4 by SIDA.
He further briefed that 3 Area Water Boards (AWBs) for as many SIDA managed canals were also functioning in the province under Water Management Ordinance, 2002.
According to him, 350 Farmers Organizations (FOs) and around 10,000 Water Course Associations (WCAs) were also functioning in the command areas of the 3 AWBs.
According to him, excluding the command areas of the SIDA operated Canals, Sindh Irrigation Act, 1879, was being applied in the rest of the province under which the water users were charged either per hour or part of the day.
SIDA’s General Manager Transition Ghulam Mustafa also briefed the officials about the working mechanisms of the authority.
He informed that the AWBs also collect bills from the commercial consumers.
The officials at the meeting agreed on introducing a high efficiency irrigation system, gauging electronically the water level and reforming the collection of water charges.