Empowering women: Near Darawat Dam, the landless to be given land

Government to distribute 50,000 acres among deserving women peasants.

KARACHI:

The Sindh government has decided to distribute around 50,000 acres of land near Darawat Dam among landless women peasants.

The dam near the Jhangri village 70 kilometres west of Hyderabad is a component of Water and Power Development Authority’s (Wapda) plan to construct small and medium-sized dams in addition to its mega projects in irrigation and hydropower sectors. It is being built across the Nai Baran river which runs through the Thatta and Jamshoro districts.

At a meeting held at Chief Minister House on Monday, officials agreed that in view of the project scope of “socio-economic uplift and emancipation of poor and needy women of the area”, the government-owned lands around Darawat Dam will be distributed among poor landless peasants preferably women.

The meeting was presided over by Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah. Sindh Board of Revenue member Shahzar Shamoon, Hyderabad commissioner Ahmed Bux Narejo, chief minister’s principal secretary Agha Jan Akhtar, Sindh irrigation secretary Babar Ali Effendi were also present.

Following a survey by the Sindh Board of Revenue, each deserving women will be given 25 acres. The Hyderabad commissioner was told to form a committee of women MPAs of the division, preferably from Jamshoro and Thatta districts only. The women legislators will supervise and monitor the assessment, survey and land distribution.

The Jamshoro and Thatta deputy commissioners were also directed to invite applications as a procedure under Land Grant Policy and to hold kutcheries to grant land among deserving people.

Last year, President Asif Ali Zardari had inaugurated the project of Darawat Dam. The major objectives include conservation of floodwater for irrigated agriculture, fisheries and hydropower generation.

The ownership of the water reservoirs will be with the government of Sindh.

The total cost of the concrete-faced, rock-filled dam is estimated at Rs9.4 billion. In September, the federal government had released Rs360 million to accelerate construction.

The 820-foot-long and 141-foot-high dam will store about 120,000 cubic feet of water that can be used to irrigate 25,000 acres of land, besides creating 4,500 jobs during its construction, operation and maintenance. Annual benefits of the project have been estimated at more than Rs1 billion.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 23^rd, 2012.