Country wastes enormous amount of water every year: Khursheed

LAHORE: Federal Minister for Water Resources Syed Khursheed Ahmad Shah has said that we are wasting water worth $ 10 to 15 billion every year while we look to the world for the aid of $ 2 billions.

He was speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

Shah said that we were planning to increase agriculture production to export but the floods have dealt a big blow. He said that the water capacity of Pakistan is 140 million acre-feet but the storage capacity is only 13 million acre feet. He said that the infrastructure is being built that will increase the storage capacity by 14 to 15 million acre-feet. He said that 80% economy is related to agriculture but it is being ignored.

The Minister said that 50-60 years ago, rupee and dollar were almost equal but today there is a huge difference. The main reason is that people don’t trust the administration, and the world is confused about Pakistan. He said that in 1994-95, an agreement was signed to produce cheap electricity from coal but it was terminated as soon as the government changed.

We realized today’s situation four or five years ago, Syed Khursheed Ahmad Shah said and added that the opposition proposed a charter of economy to the then government though it should have been asked to the opposition by the government. He said that Pakistan is a rich and resourceful country; if it is guided in the right direction, it can become self-reliant.

The minister informed that they have made 30 legislations in a day which is a record. He LCCI efforts for the flood affectees are commendable, he said. He said that the business community has played a leading role in the developed economies.

LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir said that the politicians say that the dams will be built on their dead bodies. He said today, they have more than 1200 bodies before them; therefore, the dams should be built without any further delay.

He said that the floods are getting worsened with the passage of time. First floods and later droughts play havoc with the country. He said that Iran is saving water by man-made lakes while we are wasting it into the sea.

Kabir said that unfortunately, economic issues are not being discussed in cabinet. He said that the era of geopolitics is over, now is the era of geo-economy.

Kabir said that the devastating floods have played havoc and created newer and bigger challenges for us. This scenario calls for taking immediate steps by all the segments of society to rescue the persons who are still stuck in floodwaters and arrange maximum support to internally displaced people.

He said that whenever any natural calamity occurred, LCCI has been making all out efforts. We have not only created Flood Relief Fund worth 50 million rupees but are also supplying tents, foods items to the affected areas to ease their hardships.

He said that the Executive Committee Members of LCCI have decided to rebuild a village with at least 100 houses on its own expenses. This would be a community-based development project which will include a school, a technical training centre, a healthcare centre for general public and another healthcare centre for animals. Moreover, we have planned to supply electricity to the village through solar panels and ensure full arrangements for proper sanitation.

The LCCI President said that this situation calls for constructing new dams either small or big to mitigate the force of floodwaters. If there were water reservoirs timely built near the banks of major rivers, the situation would not have been that worse.

He drew the attention of Minister towards Pakistan’s energy mix that is very inefficient as 60% of our energy is still generated from expensive fossil fuel based thermal sources while the share of cheaper renewables (including Solar, Wind and Bagasse etc.) in our electricity generation is less than 5 percent.

He said that current inefficient energy mix makes our energy sector highly vulnerable to the fluctuation in global oil prices and results in tariff hikes, subsidies, circular debt and inefficiencies. These factors altogether hamper the competitiveness of our industrial sector.

Kabir said that there is a need to focus on renewable energy, particularly solar power. He strongly proposed that special financing schemes at low cost rates should be initiated for financing of renewable energy projects.

He said that the inflation rate for the month of August 2022 has already gone to 27.3% and the issue of excessive electricity bills is adding fuel to the fire. The honourable courts have also given the directions that fuel adjustment charges should not be collected from the consumers. Despite these orders, the DISCOs are collecting fuel adjustment charges.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022