PIDA to amend rules for farmers' organisations, area water boards

Punjab Irrigation and Drainage Authority (PIDA) has decided to amend the rules for farmers' organisations and area water boards and send these to the provincial government for approval. These farmers' organisations and area water boards were constituted by the authority and amendments are aimed at to ensure justifiable distribution of canal water among the growers and resolution of different issues being faced by the farming community at local level.
Decision to this effect was taken at the 43rd meeting of the authority held here on Friday with the Punjab Irrigation Minister Malik Ahmad Ali Aulakh in the chair. The meeting was given a briefing about the performance of farmers' organisations set up in area water boards constituted on big canals.
Different proposals were submitted in the meeting to make these organisations more effective and active. It was proposed that duration of these organisations should be increased to five years from three years, 0.5 percent increase in funds for elections of area water boards and holding elections of all members of an area water board on same day.
The meeting was informed that authority would keep any newly formed grower organisation in 'category-B' and promote it to 'category-A' on showing good performance. Nevertheless, poor performers would remain in B-category for another year. The meeting also approved the annual PIDA budget for year 2011-12 and decided to send the case of 15 percent adhoc relief allowance of the employees to the Chief Secretary Punjab.
The meeting also recommended for providing funds required for completion of under construction building of area water boards on lower Chenab Canal system. Speaking on this occasion, the Punjab Irrigation Minister said that the present government was striving to facilitate the growers at every level and inclusion of growers in canal system was a part of those efforts. He urged the farmers to play their role in improving the shared-canal system so as to ensure justifiable distribution of water and provision of water to growers at the tail of any canal system. He also called for taking solid steps to check water theft and recovery of water cess.
The meeting was also attended by the representatives of growers on PIDA Board and Parliamentarians including Rana Abdur Rehman, Rana Mubashar Iqbal, Karam Elahi Bandial, Javed Hassan Gujjar, Ali Haider Noor Khan Niazi and Syed Ibrar Hussein. Secretary Irrigation Punjab Chaudhry Khalid Masood and representatives from the provincial Finance Department, Agriculture and Planning and Development were also present on this occasion.