The government had to clear the 5-million gallons per day water purification plant to meet the Gwadar city’s emerging water requirements, although it did not allocate the money for the project in this fiscal year’s Public Sector Development Programme. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD: The federal government has proposed an inadequate amount of Rs59 billion for both hydro-electric power and water sector against the demand of Rs120 billion made by the Ministry of Water Resources, in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
The country is facing severe water crisis due to the insufficient allocation by the present and previous governments for water sector which is likely to worsen in coming days.
An official working closely with the water sector told The Express Tribune that the proposed amount is not even half of the required amount.
The official further believed that chances are high that the federal government might even allocate less than the proposed amount.
Unsatisfactory: Only 30% funds released for water, power projects
“The inadequate allocation for the water sector in present scenario in the midst of the climate change is having a severe impact on the country’s water resources… may worsen further in the near future,” he said.
He added that it is shocking to see that the government allocate such a meagre amount instead of allocating 10% or above of the total size of the development portfolio for the sector, as agreed in the National Water Policy.
“It is difficult to complete or initiate several important water-related projects such as the construction of much needed and major dams for assisting in addressing acute water shortage in the country,” he said.
At present, Pakistan is at the risk of water scarcity and is among the 36 most water-stressed countries in the world, said the official while adding that the two major water reservoirs of the country since February 22 this year are already at dead level and farmers have already started facing water shortage issues.
Inadequate PSDP allocation ‘adding to water woes’
He said that the allocation for the water sector under PSDP is dropping since the last four to five years which itself is an alarming situation and reflects the seriousness of the government to address this issue.
According to the documents available with The Express Tribune, since the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government took over, there has been a continuous drop in the PSDP allocation for water sector and the share for the sector has remained below 11% of the total size of the PSDP.
International water day: Experts say govt ignorant of worsening water condition
The documents reveal that in 2017-18, the federal PSDP allocated only 3.7% (out of the total size of the (PSDP) for water sector which is the lowest in the last two decades, followed by 4% in 2016-17, 4.3% in 2015-16 and 8.5% in 2014-15.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ