(February 01, 2017)
President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), President AKIA, Senior Vice Chairman of the Businessmen Panel of FPCCI and former Provincial Minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Wednesday lauded the move of Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif to put all water-related organisations under the umbrella of a new department.
The planned water resources department will help resolve different issues while providing better services to civil, industrial and agricultural consumers, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that Agriculture Department, Fisheries Department and WASA will become part of the Irrigation Department which will be renamed as water resources department.
The plan will be implemented in few years as Asia development Bank and Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction have approved technical assistance for transformation of the Punjab Irrigation Department to the water resources department, he added.
The business leader said that Irrigation Department was established in 1849 when British ruled the Sub-Continent but a lot has been changed since then creating problems for the department.
He said that according to the plan, the paperwork including legal formalities will take two years to complete after which it will be approved by the provincial Assembly. Afterwards funds would be approved for the newly-established department in the budget for 2019-20.
The move will not only provide relief to masses but also have a positive impact on the rural economy and help attain target of water vision.
