Punjab cabinet decries canal project impasse

Accuses federal govt of obduracy over signing of agreement

LAHORE:

The Punjab cabinet protested on Sunday over the federal government’s conduct over not signing an agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the Greater Thal Canal project.

Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said while presiding over a cabinet meeting that foreign exchange would be wasted due to the adamant attitude of the federal government.

Negotiating a new agreement with the ADB would increase the cost of the project to more than double, he warned.

The chief minister alleged that the federal government, by adamantly not signing the agreement, was not only resorting to enmity with Punjab but with the country. He alleged that the federal government was resorting to economic murder of the farmers of Punjab and ruining the efforts to make the province a food basket.

Had the Greater Thal Canal project been in place, the farmers would have received surplus water and could become self-sufficient in wheat due to which the commodity would not have been imported and $1 billion could have been saved, he claimed. The federal government had avoided playing its role regarding the project, he added.

The CM underscored that the Punjab government would go to the last limit to attain its right. He wondered how those ruining the country could sustain the sinking economy.

The cabinet endorsed a decision to constitute a joint investigation team under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 on the Model Town firing incident.

Approval in principle was accorded for fast track the launching of a waste-to-energy project to provide cheap electricity to industries. The chief minister directed the local government, energy and industries departments to collaborate in this regard.

The cabinet approved grant in aid for the Journalists Housing Society in Faisalabad and payment of dues for an inquiry tribunal.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 12^th, 2022.