ISLAMABAD, June 20: Sindh has sought substantial additional funds for industrial development and improving its agriculture sector, pending finalization of the 6th National Finance Commission (NFC) award. Informed sources told Dawn on Monday the Sindh government wanted to increase agricultural productivity by improving and changing its crop pattern for which it required additional funds.

Sources said that since the NFC award was not expected for another three or four months, it was becoming difficult for the province to meet funding requirements for new development projects, including improvement of agriculture on scientific lines as proposed by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

A persistent shortage of irrigation water has been causing problems to get desired productivity in Sindh. The provincial government stresses that Chotiari Reservoir should be made an integral part of the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) Stage-1 project to provide off-stream storage facilities on the left side of Lower Nara Canal. It says the LBOD project will not be viable without Chotiari Reservoir as the additional water from it will help increase the cropping intensity on lands reclaimed after the implementation of the drainage component of the LBOD project.

The cropping intensity in the Nara Canal command area of Mirpurkhas will increase from 118 per cent to 148 per cent while fish production in the reservoir will go up from 525 tons to 4,200 tons per annum.

The reservoir can also be used as a permanent source of fresh water for the Sanghar town and adjoining areas where the ground water is highly saline. The proposed reservoir is about 14km wide and 16km long covering an area of 45,000 acres.

The provincial government has informed the centre that in the project area, the ground water is saline and unfit for drinking as well as irrigation purposes.