NAVEED BUTT

ISLAMABAD: A total of Rs59.35 billion have been proposed in the financial year 2018-19 for construction of large/medium dams all over Pakistan, including Rs25 billion for construction of Diamer-Basha Dam.

According to Annual Plan 2018-19 (Water Sector) available with Business Recorder, Rs9.3 million have been proposed for small/check and delay action dams across the country, besides the amount for large and medium dams.

A total of Rs16 billion have been proposed to reclaim waterlogged and salt affected areas through completion of Right Bank Out-fall Drainage System (RBOD-I, II and III) for the next fiscal year 2018-19.

The Annual Plan 2018-19 described that more than 50 percent water losses are reported under different studies in exiting irrigation system, and to minimize these losses about Rs4 billion are proposed for the year 2018-19 for improvement/rehabilitation and modernization of irrigation system.

For flood management, it is proposed to spend an amount of Rs700 million to complete different emergent nature of eight flood schemes all over Pakistan.

Program for “lining of irrigation channels in saline zones” will continue in Punjab and Sindh to check the seepage and other losses. A sum of Rs2.2 billion has been proposed for this program for next fiscal year 2018-19.

According to Annual Plan 2018-19, all efforts would be made to increase the overall water availability at farm gate from 133.50 MAF to 134.50 MAF. This would include surface water supplies through canal withdrawals, canal lining/remodeling, and rehabilitation/modernization of exiting irrigation system, construction of small/medium dams, check dams and retention weirs. About 6.17 Mhm (50 MAF) of water would be included in the system from underground fresh water aquifer mainly by private tube wells. Water losses of the existing irrigation system would be improved through “water conservation measures.”

The work would be started on new large/medium dams included Diamer-Basha Dam, Mohammad/Munda Dam, Kurram Tangi Dam (Stage-II) and Naulong Dam Project in next fiscal year 2018-19. The ongoing projects of large-medium dams are Gomal Zam Dam, Kurram Tangi Dam (Kaitu Weir), Darawat Dam, Nai Gai Dam, Naulong Dam, Ghabir Dam, Basl Dam, Papine Dam and Raising of Baran Dam.

An amount of Rs7.30 billion has been incurred for implementation of storage projects in all federal units. Province-wise detail is as; (i) Punjab, Rs 240 million (Ghabir and Papine dam), (ii) Sindh, Rs 2.35 billion (Darawat and Nai Gaj and Samll/recharge dams in Kohistan and Nagarparkar areas of Sindh), (iii) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Rs1.2 billion (Kurram Tangi, Kundal/Sanam dam, Baran dam and 20 small dams in districts Nowshera, Kharak, Swabi, Haripur and Khohat), (iv) Balochistan, Rs3.184 billion (Shadi Kaur, Bathozai, construction of 100 small dams (Package-II and III), Basoal dam and other small dams).