ISLAMABAD, Oct 26: The World Bank has asked Pakistan to "properly price" water and power and gradually withdraw "all subsidies for fuel and power use" in the agriculture sector, sources in the water and power ministry have told Dawn.

This should be the "new approach" of the government in its consultation with the provinces for developing a comprehensive integrated strategy and plan for infrastructure modernization and water management in each canal basin to overcome the prevailing irrigation problems, the bank is reported to have said.

The sources said the bank held the view that subsidized rates of fuel and power for tubewells posed a long-term threat to the groundwater table as those encouraged over abstraction.

The bank, which is expected to be a major contributor to the water sector's development in the coming years, has told the government that modernization of the Indus irrigation system should be an essential and priority element of its strategy.

The sources said the government would need Rs200 billion to Rs600 billion to modernize and remodel the canal networks and rehabilitate and redesign the structures, including the old barrages, line canals in saline areas and complete watercourse improvements.

In recent discussions with water and power ministry officials, the World Bank said the government's current proposals were ad hoc and engineering-oriented because there was no integrated and strategic planning process that could enable the federal and provincial governments to set priorities and sequence the needed investments over time.

Pointing out a long list of problems with the irrigation sector, the bank called for removing the barriers to timely and effective project implementation.

It said that in sharp contrast to the outstanding track record of the Indus basin replacement works, the implementation of water sector projects in the country now was characterized by inefficiency, slow progress, delays, time and cost overruns and, sometimes, unsatisfactory outcomes.

According to the bank, the factors that affect implementation include, weak planning and management, weak construction industry and litigation related to land acquisition.