HYDERABAD, Feb 17: Federal Minister for Industries, Production and Special Initiatives Jehangir Khan Tareen has said that weaknesses in the water management machinery in Sindh is responsible for slow pace of work on watercourse lining.

He said that for that reason special teams had been recruited in the province to overcome shortcomings.

He was addressing representatives of growers at the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture on Friday.

Mr Tareen said that bureaucracy had told the president that while its objectives could be achieved in Punjab, Sindh lacked the capacity for its implementation.

He said that Sindh had completed lining of 250 watercourses while 2,500 watercourses were lined in the NWFP in the first year of the programme.

He said that the capacity of Sindh had increased and now there was progress.

“Now for the second year Sindh and Punjab have the same target of lining of 5,000 watercourses whereas around 14,500 growers applied for lining of their watercourses in the country””, he said.

Mr Tareen said that technical approval had been accorded to 4,500 watercourses whereas earthwork had been completed on 3,000 watercourses and lining of 2,000 watercourses had begun.

He said that working in six districts of upper Sindh needed review and he would visit these areas along with the Sindh chief minister in the next trip to discuss the issue.

He said that Rs26 billion were being released in growers’ account directly.

He said the government would review the National Programme for Improvement of Watercours-es and its targeted period of four years might be extended till its objectives were achieved.

He said that deadline of four years had been fixed by the president for completion of programme on a war footing.

“It can be extended up to six years or so but 100 per cent watercourses will be lined in the country”, the minister told the growers deploring bureaucratic hurdles at the time of launching of the programme.

Expressing satisfaction over pace of work on the NPIW and Balochistan which had got 1,000 watercourses approved for lining, he said the government would not leave the job incomplete because 4,000 to 5,000 watercourses could be lined every year.

He said that earlier only influential land lords got their watercourses lined but the government had given priority to those areas which needed lining the most.

“The government will discuss situation of lining in detail as to which sort of watercourses need 15 or 30 per cent lining or whether target of watercourses should be increased”, the minister said while referring to review of the NPIW in June by the government.

About demand of the SCA regarding provision of Belarus tractor, he said a summary had been moved to the prime minister with a prerequisite by the economic coordination committee that company importing tractors would ensure repair and service facilities in the country.

He said that in Hyderabad a company would import 2,500 duty free tractors while it would also establish a factory. He said import of 10,000 duty free tractors had been approved.

He told a group of farmers in the Kotri taluka that the president had asked him to work on improvement of basic health units in the country and he would take stock of situation because provision of health facilities was necessary for people.

He said that initially six districts would be taken care of regarding BHUs adding that conditions of primary schools were being improved. He said that all this was being done because such primary issues were being discussed in Islamabad which never happened in the past.

SCA president Syed Qamar-uzzaman Shah said full lining of watercourses should be carried out instead of 1/3rd and that those lined many years back should also be improved.

He called for provision of Belarus tractors for growers.

Other demands included agricultural commodities should not be imported as it reduces prices of commodity, mark-up on agriculture loan should not be more than 6 to 8 per cent and loan should be offered for purchase of cattle which should be treated as security instead of any other surety without getting them insured.

He said that a delegation should be sent to India for looking into feasibility of establishment of small sugar mills, Sugar Factories Control Act should be revised and presidential package for the Badin district be implemented.

Sindh Abadgar Board chief Abdul Majeed Nizamani said that 82 per cent watercourses had been lined in Punjab while in Sindh only 18 per cent could be improved in two years while the project was for four years.