LAHORE, June 28: Scores of small farmers from different parts of the province favoured the new flat water rate system and said it should remain in force to prevent tillers from the excesses of patwaris.

Speaking at a news conference arranged by the Punjab Irrigation and Drainage Authority (PIDA) at the Lahore Press Club on Saturday, Water Council Wazirabad Treasurer Munir Ahmad Bhutta, Hafiz Umer Hayat Khokher and others said the new system would plug water theft by big time farmers.

They said the new system would provide relief to small farmers who would have to pay only Rs135 per acre per annum for using water from perennial canals.

Previously, they said, patwaris used to collect Rs1,000 per acre from them. They would neither issue receipts of the charges nor would they tell anybody about the actual water rate, they said.

They said the new system was being opposed only by big time farmers who used to steal water and avoid the tax with the connivance of patwaris.