Islamabad: 100 watercourses to be built in ICT rural areas this year

[Naveed Yaseen]

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration will construct 100 watercourses at the cost of Rs 26 million this year for irrigation of land in the rural areas of the capital. This was decided in a meeting presided over by Chief Commissioner Kamran Lashari on Friday, a senior official of ICT administration told Daily Times. ICT Director Finance Imtiaz Vohra, Director Special Project Abdul Qadus Malik and other senior official attended the meeting. According to the official, the ICT Agriculture Directorate would execute the project. Malik informed the meeting that so far the ICT administration had constructed 146 watercourses in the rural areas of the capital under the National Programme for Improvement of Watercourses. Malik told the meeting that the programme was launched in 2004 with a total cost of Rs 121 million. He said the construction of 100 watercourses would be completed this year. Malik informed the meeting that the farmers would share 30 percent expenses of the total cost of the project. The per acre yield has increased in the rural areas after the construction of watercourses, said Malik. Lashari directed the officials concerned to make the development schemes more useful for the people. Lashari said feedback from the local community was necessary to assess the benefits of these schemes. He asked the concerned officials to ensure proper maintenance of the projects after their completion to provide maximum benefit to people. “Lashari will soon visit rural areas to review the progress of these projects and also meet the local community,” said the official. staff report

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