HYDERABAD, June 19: The Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (SIDA) was considering a proposal to increase the rate of abiyana (water tax) in the province, Hashim Leghari, managing director of SIDA, said on Tuesday.

The newly appointed MD said during a briefing for journalists at the office of chief engineer of Kotri Barrage that work on the Rs10 billion foreign-funded Water Sector Improvement Programme (WSIP), which had been approved by the Central Development Working Party (CWDP) would hopefully start in the province from July 1 after getting a go-ahead from the Ecnec.

SIDA had rehabilitated 30 minors and work was going on remaining 70 under SIDA's on-farm water management programme. Out of 25 branch canals work continued on 12, he said.

He said that Rs571 million would be spent on the rehabilitation of 46 main canals including Akram Wah under the National Drainage Programme (NDP).

The authority was strengthening flood protection embankments in the province and the World Bank, too, had released funds for the rehabilitation of vulnerable points along LBOD damaged during last year's monsoon rains in Mirpurkhas and earlier in 2003 in Badin district.

He admitted that LBOD had failed to come up to people’s expectations and maintained that under WSIP 173 distributaries, 28 branch canals and seven main canals that covered around 1.837 million hectares would be rehabilitated at a cot of Rs10 billion.

In addition, office-bearers of farmers’ organisations (FOs) were being trained under social mobilisation process. 100 FOs had been formed under the on-farm water management and another 100 FOs were to be formed by SIDA as per requirement of Sindh government. Sixty of them had already been formed, he said.

He said that the Sindh government had given Rs130 million for LBOD and 95 per cent work had been completed. SIDA had also prepared a contingency plan, he said and expressed the hope that there would be no repeat of LBOD-triggered devastations as witnessed in past.

Mr Leghari said that he was working on a proposal for making scales uniform within SIDA and emphasised the need for availability of water to growers.

He added that a SIDA helpline would also be established to receive growers' complaints through an FM radio station, which was also part of WSIP.

HCCI: Chairman of the standing committee on law and order of the Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industries (HCCI), Haji Mohammad Yaqoob Memon, expressed concern on Tuesday over delay in recovery of Rs3 million cash and prize bonds looted in a robbery in Shahi Bazaar.