SUKKUR, March 5: The deputy chairman of the planning commission department, Akram Shaikh, has said sufficient funds will be allocated in the next five-year Annual Development Programme for undertaking various mega projects, including dams.

He was talking to journalists at the circuit house here on Saturday after visiting the Sukkur Barrage where he inspected the ongoing rehabilitation work of the barrage.

Mr Shaikh, however, said no allocation had been made for the Kalabagh dam in the current year's budget. He said the issue of dams and other mega projects would be discussed in parliament after which they would be sent to President Gen Pervez Musharraf for approval.

About repair of the Sukkur Barrage, he said any amount of funds required for the repair work would be provided from the federal government's pool.

He said after completion of the rehabilitation work of the barrage, a committee would review the situation and, if the committee suggested, steps would be taken to construct an alternative barrage for the Sukkur Barrage, on which Sindh's agriculture depended.

He maintained that the committee would be responsible to inspect all barrages in the province once a year and submit its report to the government. He said the step had been taken to ensure proper monitoring of barrages in Sindh.

He said if experts, consultants and irrigation authorities concluded that the Sukkur Barrage had expired its age, funds would be allocated for construction of a new barrage.

Referring to Thar coal deposits, Mr Shaikh said exploitation of these resources would bring about development in the region. He said the government would soon initiate a number of Thermal power projects in the country, especially in Sindh.

Earlier, Mr Shaikh was briefed by Frontier Works Organization's Task Force chief Brig Javed Ashraf Bajwa on the barrage repair work.

Mr Bajwa said the FWO had started the rehabilitation work by laying a hollow plate bridge on the right bank of the barrage on Nov 26, 2004, after which it had installed 60 tube-wells for sucking the barrage pond's subsoil water. He said the FWO had carried out necessary excavations for identifying the extent of the damage caused to Bay 1 and 2.

He said the FWO had completed the concrete work, installation of tube-wells, construction of two cofferdams at upstream and downstream of the barrage, grouting and sheet piling works before the scheduled period. He hoped that the remaining rehabilitation work would be completed before April 15.

Sindh Irrigation Secretary Ashfaq Memon said the recent rains and snowfall had increased the water flow in the Indus River, reducing the shortage of water in the river from 47 per cent to 34 per cent.

Meanwhile, Mr Shaikh said the Dams Safety Commission was being renamed as the Dams and Barrages Safety Commission which would continue its surveys and studies of dams and barrages in the country to suggest how to ensure maintenance and repair where ever necessary.

He observed that a slight negligence in maintenance of barrages could cause heavy losses. He thanked President Gen Pervez Musharraf for ordering the repair work of the Sukkur Barrage on emergency basis. He also praised Lt-Gen Mohammad Zubair and Brig Bajwa for their efforts to repair the barrage.

Mr Shaikh was accompanied by Sindh Chief Secretary Mohammad Aslam Sanjrani, Lt-Gen Mohammad Zubair of the Pakistan Army's Engineering Corps and other officials.