HYDERABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Sindh president Nisar Ahmed Khuhro has said the federal and Sindh governments would have to make sure that water share of other khatedars is not cut for irrigating the land given under corporate farming in the province.

He said that water on the condition of availability might be used for the corporate sector farming, but where shortage was reported or rotation took place, people would have to be taken into confidence there. He also emphasised the need that the local community should not be displaced in the wake of that initiative in Sindh.

He was speaking at a press briefing at the residence of Ali Nawaz Shah Rizvi, Hyderabad division PPP president, on Sunday. Present on the occasion were Saghir Qureshi, Dost Ali Jesar, Aftab Khanzada, Mayor Kashif Shoro, Abdul Jabbar Khan and others.

He said that though lands to be used for corporate farming would indeed lead to income generation, water availability was, however, a serious issue in the present condition. He said new reservoirs would still take some time to be ready and operational.

The PPP leader said that dams like Bhasha were under the construction phase and presently entirely dependence was on Tarbela dam. He said the people living in the areas like Dadu, Nara and riverine patches of Sindh, where land were to be used for corporate farming, would have to be taken into confidence. He emphasised the need that no share of water of anyone should be cut.

He said that under new resource distribution formula, provinces’ share was increased in the National Finance Commission (NFC) award. The new NFC award, he said, was to be announced in 2015, but it was not given and then it was not announced in 2020 again. He said that now NFC award was due in 2025.

He was critical of a debate surrounding the NFC award because people were seen talking about reversal of that multiple criteria-based formula of the NFC. He said the NFC was a constitutional obligation and under that formula share of provinces could be enhanced and not revised downward. He said that with increased share of provinces, they were able to spend more on development sector.

The PPP Sindh president said that those who were talking about formula’s reversal must understand it would not go down well with many in the country. He said the federal government usually did not collect the required amount of taxes through the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and when federal receipts were not adequately ensured, the provinces were told to slash size of their annual development plans (ADPs) which meant cut in social sector and people’s development was hit. He said that population was constantly increased in the country. He made it clear that no one wanted to see that provincial autonomy was done away with.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2024