He said in this phase of de-siltation campaign as many as 316 perennial channels will be de-silted in the province and it will be followed by de-siltation in 304 non-perennial channels which will be completed by the end of April. De-siltation plays a key role in ensuring water supplies to the tail-end reaches of the system. He further informed that the draft of the provincial water act is ready and the law department is fine-tuning it. He said this act is one of the key initiatives of this government in ensuring sustainable management of the province's water resources. He said the water table in Lahore is dropping at an alarming rate of 2-3 feet annually due to unabated extraction and that Pakistan is among the most profligate water users in the world as our water productivity is one of the lowest. Due to our inefficient irrigation methods and wastefulness in urban water use our water resources are seriously stressed.
Water situation in the province and in the country is a serious cause of concern for the whole nation and he urged the media to raise awareness on prevailing water situation in the province and to highlight the need for adopting efficient water use methods including rainwater harvesting, efficient irrigation and water recycling.
He said Punjab Irrigation Department's infrastructure has been valued at over Rs. 2500 billion and over Rs. 50 billion are needed annually for the maintenance of this system. He said the recurring maintenance expenditures of irrigation system necessitate a revisit of the abiana rates in the province. Abiana was fixed at Rs. 135 per year per acre in 2002 and since then it has not been revised whereas the maintenance cost has gone up considerably.