Shuhabuddin Siddiqui, Executive District Officer (Agriculture), announced formation of Taluka level sub-committees headed by the DD0 (revenue) to expedite the development work on national programme for improvement of watercourses in the district. He made this announcement while presiding over a meeting of agriculture officers, on farm water management, and all other district officers related to national programme here on Tuesday.
He informed the meeting that the district revenue officer would be focal persons and head all Talukas committees with concerned DDOs of all related departments as members in each Talukas of district. He said these committees have been assigned the task to complete the watercourses association and keep the share lists of watercourses of the project of their areas and update it within week time so that the targeted watercourses must be completed by the end of the financial year.
He also informed the meeting that 150 out of 254 targeted (WCA) have been formed by the officials of OFWM department while the remaining 104 watercourses yet to be formed.
He also informed that against 2,930 targeted watercourses, lining of 517 watercourses was planned during the first year of the project but due to shortage of staff the number of targeted watercourses was reduced to 254. However, that after the completion of recruitment of the staff during this year, 674 would be lined in next financial year. Similarly 792 watercourses to be lined up in third year of the project while the remaining watercourses would be completed during the final year of the project.
Siddiqui said that the Hyderabad district was leading in the province keeping in view the progress of work on the national project.
Addressing the meeting director programme monitoring unit Hyderabad region informed that it was the first mega project in which the farmers concerned have been given the executing authority while the government department were only extending technical and financial help. He said that the inventories of the watercourses provided by the Sindh irrigation department should be re-examined as current survey shows availability of 33,000 watercourses as against inventories of 29,000 watercourses in the district submitted by the Sindh irrigation department. Similarly the share lists of watercourses were not updated and even comprises of deceased persons. He emphasised the need of co-ordination amongst the sister organisations.