Sindh on brink of agri crisis?

KARACHI – Work on plugging breaches in dykes has been plagued by negligence, inordinate delays as well as dakoos harassing contractors and demanding extortion money from them, argued MPA Ahmed Ali Shah, the chairperson of a committee appointed by President Asif Ali Zardari to oversee the restoration of embankments, at the Sindh Assembly session on Wednesday.
Speaker Nisar Ahmed Khuhro was having none of it, however, chiding ministers for their lax attitude in the matter. Of the ministers concerned, Irrigation Minister Jam Saifullah Dharejo was absent from the house during a debate on plugging of dykes breaches, having left soon after the question hour on his department ended.
In his absence, Revenue Minister Jam Mahtab Daher tried to submit a response, but one that was deemed unsatisfactory. Law Minister Ayaz Soomro also tried to convince Khuhro, but his attempts also went in vain. The debate had started when Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) MPA Nusrat Saher Abbasi drew the house’s attention towards media reports that a committee headed by Shah had expressed its dissatisfaction over the repairs and maintenance work of protective embankments that is being carried out the Irrigation Department.
In the matter of public interest, Abbasi sought a clarification on the matter from Shah. Shah responded that work had started on plugging breaches of the Torhi, MS and other embankments, but it had started very late. He claimed that his committee had observed negligence in the undertaking of restoration work. He said that contractors were also facing difficulties as there are complaints about local dakoos demanding extortion money from them.
Shah informed the Sindh Assembly session that his committee has recommended to the government to take steps for ensuring quality of work being underway, adding that the committee was not in a position to monitor and ensure the quality of the work as it was not mentioned in their terms of references.
“There is a dire need to monitor the plugging of dykes work to ensure transparency in utilization of funds and maintaining quality. The committee has recommended to the government to appoint a consultant, and as per my knowledge, the government has hired the services of NESPAK in this regard,” he said.
Shah argued that work on plugging dykes breaches in Punjab had started earlier since the damage was less as compared to Sindh, and further, because the funding process was quicker and easier in Punjab. Without mentioning the PML-F leader, he said that no politics should be played on human issues.
Speaker Khuhro expressed concern over the manner in which repair work was being carried out.
“I visited the Aaqil-Agani Bund in Larkana last Tuesday, but no work had been started there. On the other hand, the government is telling people that the inauguration the dyke is scheduled for February 24,” he said in disbelief.
The Speaker said that the government’s irrigation expert, Idrees Rajput, issued a statement in the press that work on the Torhi Bund should be started early. However, he argued, if the government had hired him as a consultant, why was he making such observations in the media. He also asked why the government has not been taking action against dacoits if they were forcing contractors to pay extortion money.
Khuhro said that people start early cropping in April, and when canals will be filled with water, it would be impossible to undertake repair work. “This is the reason that the people of Sindh are concerned about lack of time, and the government should do complete repairs on a war-footing basis. People want that they should be protected from another disaster,” he remarked.
Law Minister Soomro told the Speaker that work on the Torhi Bund has been started, but that he didn’t understand why Rajput had issued the kind of statement that he did. He said that Rajput is a fair and impartial person, and this was the reason that the government had appointed him as an expert.
Soomro said that the government was trying its best to undertake rehabilitation of the flood affected areas. He said that criticism by those is totally unjustified who were not practically present to help people during worst floods.
Revenue Minister Jam Mahtab Daher said that the government had appointed different committees because it wanted to ensure and maintain transparency in the rehabilitation of flood-hit areas. He said the PPP government appointed committees as well as consultants such as Idrees Rajput as it did not want to compromise on the quality of work.