The current trend in the country of developing housing societies on agricultural land is disastrous for the long-term sustainability of the economy, said Provincial Minister for Irrigation Arshad Ayub Khan while chairing a meeting to review the pace of progress on small dams.

Director General Small Dams, Sahibzada Shabir told the meeting that the directorate has already completed 21 projects that irrigate 85,505 acres of land and also help in storing 61,644-acre feet of water. About new projects, he said that currently there were 38 schemes in which 37 projects were in progress while one new project was under implementation.

It was in that context that the minister discouraged the practice of developing housing societies on agricultural land. He said that “agriculture is a source of employment and opportunity for millions of poor people. If they are displaced only to develop housing societies, nobody is left better-off since the model of development dependent on housing societies is a very inward-looking approach. The purpose of small dams is to increase the underground water table to help and support the agriculture sector.”

He highlighted the provincial government’s efforts to increase the area under cultivation and also to facilitate farmers in expanding their yield. All issues of the farmers were duly heard by the relevant departments and acted upon. He also appreciated the performance of the Small Dams Directorate and directed it to further expedite the pace of ongoing projects.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk