ISLAMABAD, July 2: The federal government will provide Rs17 billion to Sindh to undertake the “Revamping/ Rehabilitation of irrigation and drainage systems” project in the province.

Official sources told Dawn that the centre had tentatively cleared the Sindh’s government new irrigation and drainage project which would soon be formally approved first by the central development working party (CWDP) and then the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).

The project had been cleared by provincial development working party and submitted to the planning and development division.

The project comprised lining of channels (distributaries and minors) in canal command area of Gudu, Sukkar and Kotri barrages. It also included drainage scheme in Jacobabad district and check/small dams in Khirthar and Kohistan ranges.

The project would be executed by irrigation and power department of Sindh. The department would also be responsible for operation and maintenance of the project which was expected to be completed by the end of financial year 2005-6.

The provincial government hoped to save 0.954 maf water which was wasted through seepage from distributaries and minors in the saline areas of the three barrages.

The provincial government had said that the water logging and salinity had resulted in the loss of thousands of acres of cultivable land.

Poor irrigation practices in the agriculture fields, and charging of the subsoil by the seepage through earthen canals were causing problems in the ground water table beyond permissible limits which needed to be controlled.

Keeping in view the high cost involved, the Sindh government had purposed that to begin with only the channels passing through the saline areas should be allowed to be taken up.

The length of such channels in this project is 1782 miles.