Ministers happy as Chashma project approved by CDWP

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government said on Tuesday the Chashma Right Bank Canal Project, which has been delayed since 1992, has been approved by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP).

Speaking at a press conference, Ministers Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Arshad Ayub khan, Kamran Bangash and Special Assistant to Chief Minister on information Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif said the project would be completed in five years with a Rs 244 billion cost and change the fate of southern districts.

They congratulated the people of the province on the approval of the project and appreciated the efforts of former prime minister Imran Khan and Chief Minister Mahmood Khan in taking a special interest in the project.

The project will be funded by the province and the federation in a ratio of 35 to 65.

The provincial ministers told the media persons that the project would bring under cultivation 300,000 acres of land in the province, which was an important part of the food security policy.

The ministers said the KP government in general and the leadership of the southern districts, in particular, played a role in getting the project approved.

They said the feasibility report of the project was prepared in a short span of two months.

Irrigation Minister Arshad Ayub Khan said the project would develop agriculture in the southern districts and would lead toward self-sufficiency.

The project was launched in 1992 with the cooperation of Japan.

The project will be jointly undertaken by the federal and provincial governments.

He pointed out that at present 33 percent of the water of the province was going to waste which would come down to 10 per cent after the completion of the project.