The proposal put out by President Asif Ali Zardari aims to create a state land bank that will use government-owned land to attract investment from foreign financial institutions and PSX. Zardari stressed during a meeting at Aiwan-e-Sadr how urgently the Kachhi Canal project needed to be completed within 1.5 years. Balochistan’s 713,000 acres of land are to be irrigated by this project, and the federal government has promised to supply the funds required to finish it on schedule.
The GPI’s six strategic canal projects were also considered at the meeting. The construction of these canals is anticipated to greatly increase Pakistan’s agricultural potential by raising livestock, cultivable land, and fishery capacity.
In order to save water, lower losses, and improve availability, Zardari gave the order to modernize Pakistan’s irrigation industry and to move quickly on these strategically important canals. Along with proposing the redesign of the Indus River System Authority, he also suggested the use of drip irrigation in the arid areas surrounding the canals. Plans to set up 27 telemetry stations were discussed during the meeting in order to guarantee reliable data exchange on water flow and availability.
