THE Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has asked the Water Resources Ministry to furnish a proposal for crop-wise Abyana (water pricing) to meet the operations and maintenance (O&M) expenses of canals and irrigation systems, and conserve water as well. As per proposal, the four federating units would also finance the national water projects such as dams in the country through the revenue collected on account of water pricing.
Pakistan is fortunate to have vast fertile land and its irrigation system is regarded as one of the best in the world. However, in order to ensure the development and effective functioning of this vast system, it is imperative that existing infrastructure be maintained and new infrastructure be created which requires huge resources. There has been an Abyana system in vogue (Rs 80 per acre in Kharif season and Rs 125 per acres in Rabi season) but it is just symbolic and meets not even a fraction of the cost being incurred by provincial and federal governments on maintenance of the canal system and construction of new water reservoirs which has become a necessity to meet the growing needs of irrigation water. It is also because of the lack of resources that the country has long been indulging in the luxury of wasting huge quantities of water that flows into seas in the absence of water reservoirs. At a time when both the federal and the provincial governments are shying away from their responsibility of even ensuring regular payment of salaries and pensions due to paucity of funds, there is absolutely no logic to continue with the system of almost free of cost provision of water to feudal class. Introduction of reasonable water charges on per acre basis would not add much to the burden of the farmers but the mechanism would ensure availability of substantial amounts to be spent on improvement of the system including lining of canals and construction of dams on a self-help basis as water charges would help collect up to Rs 325 billion annually. We hope the SIFC would not allow the influential lobbies to scuttle the implementation of the proposal which has the prospects of improving and modernizing the agriculture sector.
