ISLAMABAD, Sep 13 (APP): Minister for Water Resources, Musadik Masood Malik, informed the National Assembly on Friday that the Federal Government is financing the construction of 32 dam projects across Pakistan, with a total cost of Rs. 1,056.986 billion.
Responding to a question during the National Assembly’s question hour, the minister said, “The federal government is financing the construction of various small, medium, and large dams/reservoirs through the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) to store surplus water, which becomes available during the flood season. This stored water will be used for irrigation and drinking, when the natural flow in rivers decreases.”
Once completed, these projects will store approximately 8.43 million acre-feet of water and irrigate an additional 436,934 acres of land, Malik said and highlighting that the water stored in the Diamer Basha Dam alone, about 6.4 million acre-feet, will be used to supplement irrigation for 45 million acres of land in the Indus Basin Irrigation System.
Additionally, he said that the 6.4 million acre-feet of water stored in the Diamer Basha Dam will be used to augment irrigation supplies currently provided to 45 million acres of canal-irrigated land within the Indus Basin Irrigation System.
He further revealed plans for several additional projects, currently in the planning stages, including the Shyok Dam (5.0 MAF), Akhori Dam (6.0 MAF), Chiniot Dam (0.9 MAF), and Murunj Dam (0.45 MAF).
To another question, he said that groundwater is a devolved subject under the 18th Amendment. He said, “steps taken to monitor and regulate groundwater, including relevant legislation and implementation, fall under the jurisdiction of the respective provinces”.
He referred to the National Water Policy (NWP) of 2018, which outlines an overall framework for addressing the emerging water crisis and provides guidelines for sustainable water management.
He explained that while water is a national resource, irrigation, agriculture, rural and urban water supply and other related sectors are provincial responsibilities. The National Water Policy (NWP) 2018 offers comprehensive guidelines, emphasizing the importance of groundwater as a critical resource.
APP/zah-sra
