LAHORE, July 22: The World Bank has asked the Punjab Irrigation department to set a deadline for complete transfer of power to farmers for the management and maintenance of water courses and collection of abiana.

In its recent aide memoir, the bank acknowledged “some progress” in the institutional reforms programme for the department, but stressed the need for acceleration.

Under the WB-driven reforms programme, the Punjab Irrigation and Drainage Authority was created to reform the irrigation department by handing over the overall management and maintenance of water courses and collection of service charges (abiana) to farmers’ bodies.

Sources said a World Bank team, which visited the province to ascertain the pace and progress of the programme for continuing loan disbursement, termed it (the progress) “positive and a good sign for the future.”

An official of the PIDA — a body assigned to execute reforms package — interpreted the aid memoir as a good omen as far as the development is concerned, but expressed fears that the department might not be able to get any benefit from it.

He said the World Bank and the Japan Bank for International Credit had been financing canal and drainage remodelling under this programme. They might continue financing the (remodelling) projects, but there were many hurdles on the way to progress, he added.

According to the official, not a single plan had been finalized in the last three years because of procedural hiccups and lack of interest among the authorities concerned. “Everyone in the department and people from the National Accountability Bureau, Anti-corruption Department and army monitoring teams are scared of the new process to finalize the contracts. Hence, there is no progress, the official disclosed.

He admitted that the reforms package had been a bone of contention between both the institutions. The World Bank wanted a complete transfer of power to farmers for managing water courses and collection of funds by the end of the current aid package in December 2004 while the Punjab Irrigation Department, after experimenting with the reforms for five years, wanted to begin with joint management for first three years and then evaluate all the farmers’ bodies to ascertain which could be given full power.