The Sindh government has in principal decided to press the federal government in the forthcoming meeting of Council of Common Interest (CCI) to start conducting census from Sindh if there is shortage of required troops for conducting census all over the country.
The decision was taken during meeting held on Tuesday with Chief Minister (CM) Syed Qaim Ali Shah in the chair to review the agenda of CCI meeting being held on March 25 in Islamabad. The meeting was attended by Senior Minister for Finance Syed Murad Ali Shah, Chief Secretary Siddique Memon, Additional Chief Secretary Mohammad Waseem, Principal Secretary to CM Alamuddin Bullo, Secretary Finance Sohail Rajput, Secretary IPC Mushtaq shaikh and Secretary Irrigation Zaheer Hyder Shah and others.
Inter-provincial Coordination Department (IPC) Secretary Mushtaq Shaikh briefed the chief minister and said that conduct of census and formulation of flood protection plan had been included in the agenda of the CCI meeting to be held under the chair of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on March 25 in Islamabad.
The chief minister thanked the prime minister for including the census in the agenda of the CCI meeting. Earlier, conducting of census was excluded from agenda for which the chief minister had given the task to secretary IPC department to coordinate with the federal government on his behalf and get the census back on the agenda of CCI.
The chief minister recalled that in the last CCI meeting held on February 29, it was disclosed that the required troops were not available for supervision of the census to be conducted all over Pakistan simultaneously. The prime minister had said that he would talk to Army Chief General Raheel Sharif for the purpose.
Qaim Ali Shah said in the last census Sindh had suffered a huge loss in headcounts. “Now it is overdue and must be done for which 32 political parties in the multi-party conference convened by PPP Sinhd chapter had given him mandate to get it done.”
IPC Department Secretary Mushtaq Shaikh said that the federal government had already made at source deduction of Rs 126.624 million from the share of Sindh. However, the chief minister said that funds were available and Sindh government was ready. So, there must be no problem in this regard, he added. “It must be done. It is not only the peoples will but also a constitutional requirement,” he said.
Talking about formulation of 10-year national flood protection plan -IV, the chief minister said his government was very much clear on this agenda. “We are of the view that the federal government must bear all the expenditures of the plan,” he said, and added that the Sindh government would not allow construction of any new dam and funds of flood commission for provinces must be increased from Rs 1,000 million to Rs 5,000 million annually.
Senior Minister for Irrigation Syed Murad Ali Shah said that Rs 15 billion dykes schemes approved by Irsa were lying with the federal government for want of funds. He requested the chief minister to raise the funding issue in CCI meeting.
Secretary Irrigation Zaheer Hyder Shah said the issue of releasing 10 MAF water downstream Kotri Barrage may also be taken up in the CCI meeting. “This is also a very serious issue for Sindh,” he said. On this, the chief minister said that sea intrusion had wreaked havoc in the area due to non-releasing of water downstream Kotri Barrage.
The chief minister also briefed the participants about his meeting with newly-appointed British High Commissioner last Monday at CM House. He said the British High commissioner was ready to help Sindh government in rehabilitation of Sukkur Barrage. “They have expertise in the operation of gates of the barrage,” he said, and directed the secretary irrigation to have a meeting with deputy British high commissioner in Karachi and discuss the issue of rehabilitation of Sukkur Barrage with him.”
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah said that a comprehensive planning for construction of new Sukkur Barrage must be started as soon as possible. “Sindh badly needs a new barrage within next 20 years,” he said.
