MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly was informed on Thursday that the federal government had excluded a key irrigation sector development project from its public sector development programme for the fiscal year 2024-25, creating challenges for farmers and risking the loss of jobs for contractual employees.

Responding to a question, Sardar Mohammad Hussain, Minister for Irrigation and Small Dams, said the National Programme for Improvement of Water Courses in Pakistan Phase-II was operational across all provinces, AJK, and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).

In AJK, the project was executed by the Department of Irrigation and Small Dams, with 99 employees appointed on a contract basis. However, following the project’s exclusion from the federal budget in June 2024, “temporary termination notices” had been issued to the contractual staff.

The minister said that written and verbal appeals had been made to the federal government to reinstate the project, as its sudden termination had also created difficulties in clearing payments for ongoing and completed schemes in AJK.

Failure to complete these schemes would negatively impact farmers and agricultural activities. Moreover, the affected employees faced job losses with no possibility of adjustment, he added.

To address the issue, Mr Hussain said a developmental project titled “Continuation of National Programme for Improvement of Water Courses Phase-II: Targets and Payments of Liabilities in AJK” was being prepared under PC-I to ensure completion of irrigation schemes, mitigate agricultural losses, and reinstate project employees.

PML-N regional president Shah Ghulam Qadir disclosed that he had discussed the matter with the Federal Minister for Planning, who had assured an extension for the project.

He urged the AJK government to resend the revised development proposal to the federal government.

Minister for Law Mian Abdul Waheed, Ministers for Small Industries Taqdees Gilani and Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Sardar Mir Akbar called for establishment of a full-fledged irrigation department with permanent staff to support agricultural lands.

Drawing attention to the dependency of AJK’s agricultural lands on water channels, they maintained that the territory had rich potential to turn into an agricultural hub with consistent irrigation.

Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar formed a committee to present a report on the matter within 15 days.

On a separate issue raised by Mr Qadir regarding frequent accidents in Neelum, senior minister Waqar Noor said that slippery roads caused by frost during specific winter hours were the primary reason for accidents in high-altitude areas.

The government would issue travel advisories for tourists and instruct the administration to take necessary precautions, including sprinkling salt on frost-prone roads, he said.

Law Minister Waheed and former premier Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob highlighted dangers at roads in Neelum and Poonch, respectively, necessitating urgent interventions to prevent accidents.

Former premier Raja Farooq Haider called for revisiting road geometry and incorporating super-elevation in road designs. Minister for Wildlife Sardar Javed Ayoub, whose constituency recorded the highest number of fatalities due to accidents, supported this stance and called for addressing technical faults in road construction.

Addressing a call attention notice by Sardar Hassan Ibrahim regarding non-payment of compensation for natural disasters, Mr Noor informed the house that the AJK government had released Rs. 100 million each in August and November 2024. Additionally, Rs. 20 million had been released for housing, with another Rs. 20 million to be released shortly for the same purpose, he said.

The house was adjourned by the Speaker to reconvene on January 5.

Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2025