LAHORE
The Punjab government has proposed Rs 41.031 billion as irrigation sector outlay for the year 2017-18, showing no increase if compared with the ADP 2016-17.
Against the 2016-17 allocation of development budget, the department could only utilise Rs 34.89 billion, which is lowest spending in the past couple of years.
One of the reasons of low utilisation of funds is non-filling of the post of irrigation secretary for quite some time.
Under the ADP 2017-18, 173 schemes have been announced, including 96 ongoing and 77 new ones.
As many as Rs 28 billion or 69 percent of total development budget of irrigation sector has been proposed to be spent on the ongoing scheme while Rs 12.731 billion or 31 percent of development budget had been allocated to new schemes.
Furthermore, target has been set to complete 45 ongoing schemes and 24 new schemes during the financial year 2017-18.
About Rs 2.633 billion or six percent of total development budget has been allocated for drainage schemes, Rs 5.438 billion or 13 per cent for flood works, Rs 24.22 billion or 59 percent for irrigation, Rs 1.966 billion or five percent for small dams while the rest has been earmarked under miscellaneous head. The allocation for Irrigation sector constitutes is about 6.83 percent of the core ADB 2017-18.
One of the most prominent new schemes includes construction of intake and allied structures on River Ravi costing over Rs 5 billion for augmenting/supplying drinking water to the Lahore metropolitan area.
As a strategic intervention, work on Jalalpur Irrigation Project, costing Rs 26 billion with the assistance of Asian Development Bank (ADB) would also be initiated besides construction of Kas Umar Khan Canal system costing Rs 2.5 billion in Tehsil Isa Khel, Mianwali district.
Management of Flood Protection of Deg Nullal, including channelisation and enhancing capacity of Basantar Nullal, would cost Rs 4.975 billion.
Moreover, construction of Papin Dam (land acquisition component) and Dadoacha Dam would be done at cost of Rs 1.22 billion and Rs 4.00 billion respectively.
Work on phase-II of Greater Thal Canal, including Chobara Branch, costing Rs 6.261 billion, would also be commenced coupled with remodeling of Sidhnai-Mailsi-Bhalwal (SMB) Link Canal and Enhancing Capacity of Mailsi Syphone with the allocation of Rs 4.034 billion.
As a policy initiative, Irrigation Department has prepared a draft ‘Punjab Ground Water Protection, Regulation and Development Act (2017) and is in the process of approval by the government.
The salient feature of the proposed Act includes establishment of Punjab Ground Water Commission with a view to developing Groundwater Management Plan in consultation with major stakeholders to be notified in the official Gazette.
The plan includes identification of critical areas with comprehensive description, physical map of area, complete description of the aquifer, including groundwater levels, quantitative and qualitative details, past, present and projected water availability, demand and actual uses, share of present and past availability and use of ground water, extent and methods of recharge of aquifer, monitoring and management of groundwater level and quantity, mitigation of saline water intrusion, distance of new tube wells from existing tube wells, extent of conjunctive use of groundwater and surface water and irrigation efficiency and water saving strategy.