PESHAWAR, Nov 22: NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani has called upon the centre to provide Rs45 billion to the province for the construction of 20 small dams to help his government reduce poverty.

Addressing the inaugural session of a three-day national workshop on 'Community-based Water Conservation - Lachi project experience,' on Monday the chief minister asked the federal government and representatives of donor agencies, who were present on the occasion, to invest in Frontier's poverty-reduction projects.

"If Islamabad can give Rs28 billion for development and Rs12 billion on account of line losses to Karachi, why should not it invest in the NWFP which is the most poor province?" asked Mr Durrani.

He said that 20 small dams, if built, would help bring an additional 85,000 acres under cultivation. He pointed out that an international donor agency was ready to make investment, but a final decision to the effect had to be taken by the federal government.

"We request the federal government to provide funds to us or execute the projects through its own development programme to help people of this province come out of the vicious circle of poverty," said Mr Durrani.

Similarly, he maintained, the first lift canal, which is proposed to originate from the Chashma Right Bank Canal, would ensure cultivation of 285,000 acres in southern districts where, he added, a large area was lying unutilized for want of water.

"An equally large area can be brought further under irrigation if the second lift and third lift canal projects are also executed," he said. The completion of these projects would also help the NWFP to become self-sufficient in food production and ensure supply of drinking water to people, he said.

"Besides, we are ready to enter into an agreement with the federal government for fulfilling the food requirements of Balochistan," Mr Durrani said. He acknowledged the support by the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) and the United Kingdom Department for International Development to the province for overcoming poverty.

He said the MMA government in its two-year stint in office had proved all those wrong who used to claim that an administration led by clergy would undermine development process and confine working women to their houses.

Rather, he maintained, the MMA government had proved other way around by undertaking the establishment of a separate women university, a women medical college and a separate directorate of sports for women.

"We made polices and executed plans in the light of our social and cultural values," he emphasized. Earlier, Mr Gareth Aicken, head of the UK's Department for International Development in Pakistan, expressed his organization's interest in making investment in the NWFP.

"We would use our experiences of other projects and programmes in the NWFP for poverty alleviation on a sustainable basis," he said. Shoaib Sultan Khan, chairman of the Rural Support Programmes Network, Islamabad, stressed community involvement in completing water projects.