Punjab Irrigation and Power Department has approached Asian Development Bank (ADB) for implementation of new "Barani Integrated Water Resources Sector Project" (BIWRSP), which will operate on the Potohar plateau in the districts Jehlum, Chakwal, Rawalpindi, and Attock.
According to Punjab Irrigation and Power Department sources, the overall target area covers about 22,000 square kilometres. In Punjab, 41 small dams have already been developed, with an average catchment of 34.5 km and an average CCA of 431 hectares (ha) or 4.3 km. This totals approximately 1,415 km watershed and 176 km command area.
According to official sources, the proposed Barani Integrated Water Resources Sector Project (BIWRSP) will contribute to sustain long-term social and economic development and reduce drought vulnerability in Punjab's Potohar plateau and will have the following components: (i) integrated water resource infrastructure development; (ii) demand driven irrigated agriculture development and water use; and (iii) project planning, implementation and institutional support.
Official sources disclosed that new water storage dams will be constructed together with initial conservation measures in the watersheds. However, watersheds of selected existing reservoirs will also be treated. Command area works for both existing and new dams will be undertaken and an irrigation management transfer of the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the water distribution infrastructure will be made to the water users, along with active support and services, for adopting remunerative irrigated agriculture.
The component for developing an integrated water resource infrastructure will provide financing to construct new small dams and reservoirs, in tandem with conservation measures in the watershed, and the main water carrier channel infrastructure. Watershed conservation measures will have positive environmental and socio-economic impacts, sources mentioned.
Punjab irrigation and power department assured ADB that the land acquisition and resettlement must be completed before construction can start. During dam construction the site will be subject to large-scale construction activities. A workers camp and the impoundment area will be cleared of vegetation. Construction materials will be collected from quarries.
Main canals will also be constructed as part of the water resource infrastructure. The alignment of the main canal will cut across the landscape and fields. The majority of these fields will belong to beneficiaries of the irrigation system.
The watershed conservation measures consist of awareness raising and capacity building, structural measures for erosion control and sediment trapping, vegetative measures, and conservation farming measures, sources explained.
Punjab government's project revealed that the component for water use and development of irrigated agriculture aims to increase the income of agricultural households and enterprises, facilitate project ownership for all stakeholders, ensure sustainability of O&M of investments in the command area, minimise "elite capture" and asset inequities, and realise the irrigation potential of the reservoir.
This component will include intensification of agriculture, more external inputs, and irrigated agriculture. Corresponding attention and precautionary measures for safe use of agro-chemicals, integrated pest management, and proper irrigation water management and drainage are required.
Official sources mentioned that the component is designed to achieve multiple goals where a demonstrable demand exists, with the close involvement and ownership of beneficiaries through cost and component sharing of a minimum of 20 percent on infrastructure elements.
The small dams organisation (SDO) will be assisted to organise water users into farmers' organisations (FOs) under the Provincial Irrigation and Drainage Authorities (PIDA) Act and transfer O&M responsibility to the FOs on both existing and new locations. Proposals for funding under the component will be generated in the form of Command Area Development Action Plans (CADAP).
The BIWRSP is designed to provide the SDO Punjab with the financial means and technical assistance to develop a number of small and medium-sized dam projects in the Potohar region. Improvements in the current practice are a change toward structural inclusion of participatory approaches during the identification and design stages, inclusion of watershed conservation measures, more emphasis on command area and irrigated agriculture development, and aiming for beneficiary participation in managing and operating the water distribution infrastructure.
This means an overall participatory approach to increase local ownership. Investment in the watershed will lead to longer economic lives of the reservoirs and development of the cultivable-command area (CCA) will improve economic viability.
Punjab government assured the ADB that environmental criteria will also be used in the early stages of identifying and selecting subprojects. Environmental assessment and implementing environmental management plans (EMP) will be mandatory for each subproject; the scope will be defined in the selection process. Capacity building, the third component, will develop capacities in the SDO for managing and institutionalising these approaches.
For assessing the sector-level impact from the environmental perspective, official sources mentioned that the following aspects are relevant:
(i) the environmental impact of a number of small dam projects in the target area on Potohar plateau, ie, the relative magnitude of the subprojects and their potential environmental impacts; (ii) possible cumulative impact of a number of small dams in single watersheds; and (iii) the impact of the new approaches on the environmental assessments and environmental management of the subprojects.
Meanwhile, a Social and Environmental Monitoring Unit (Semu) has been established by the Punjab Irrigation and Power Department (IPD) under PIDA and has the responsibility for environmental preparation, clearance supervision, monitoring, enforcement of mitigation measures and review of environmental performance during subproject implementation.
This responsibility extends to all IPD projects and no project can receive a PC-1 clearance unless environmental and social checklists have been prepared and approved by the Semu. The Semu will therefore have an important role in the project. In particular the Semu will have the various responsibilities during project implementation.