Punjab Finance Minister Hashim Jawan Bakhat on Thursday directed the Irrigation and Agriculture Departments to jointly chalk out the water requirement estimates for the crops in the different districts of province in order to evolve need-based water distribution formula.
Chairing Chief Minister Special Monitoring Unit meeting for quarterly progress of the irrigation department, he said the agriculture sector plays a pivotal role for economic revival of the country. He said preserving rainwater by constructing the small dams and stopping the irregular usage of water in farmhouses, canal water theft were the responsibilities of the Irrigation Department.
Irrigation Minister Mohsin Laghari said proper monitoring and implementation was crucial for the success of small dams and controlling the water theft. He said installation of the solar system on canals can provide electricity across the province.
Minister for Commerce and Trade Main Aslam Iqbal, Advisor to CM for Economic Affairs and Development Dr Salman Shah, Head CM SMU Fazeel Asif and secretaries of concern departments were also present on the occasion.
The minister said that reducing the farmers' problems and cost of production and making crops profitable in accordance with the areas are priorities of the government. He said proper utilization of water can irrigate barren lands which will gradually increase productivity. He directed the secretary irrigation to utilize departmental resources for repairing and maintenance work of canals. He stressed the need of research and development work and provides the experts' opinion to the farmers for water utilization.
Mian Aslam Iqbal said that distribution of water was major issue of farmers. He said the department should utilize additional resources to facilitate small farmers. Dr Salman Shah said the cabinet wants to ensure water availability to the farmers and department should make long-term planning for it.
Secretary Irrigation Saif Anjum briefed about departmental progress and development work. He mentioned that greater Thal canal would be functional in June 2020 while proposed legislation for underground water use was presented in Assembly.