Criticizing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for ignoring the plight of Punjab, Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said that the Prime Minister has crossed the lines of enmity against the province by expressing concerns about the problems of the agricultural sector. have given
“[Prime Minister] Shehbaz has resorted to cruelty against farmers and farmers. Obstacles are being erected in the completion of the Greater Thal Canal in hostility to Punjab,” Chief Minister Elahi said in a statement.
Reminding the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) about the approval of the project, the Chief Minister said: “If the project agreement is not signed by December 13, the agreement will automatically expire. “
He pointed out that the deadline for signing the relevant Asian Development Bank (ADB) agreement is December 13 and lamented the Centre’s lack of progress on the matter.
In the ECNIC meeting, Punjab resolved Sindh’s objections with data. Construction, repair and maintenance work was also to be done during the first phase of the Greater Thal Canal.”
“Completion of phase two of the project will make water available for 0.6 million acres of land,” the chief minister said, adding that canal water would be earmarked only for the Punjab portion.
Chief Minister Elahi said that according to the 1991 water agreement, water was allocated under the name of Greater Thal Canal, under which the Kuchchi Canal project was made for Balochistan while the Raini Canal project was made for Sindh.
He further said that Chashma Right Canal project was approved for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Greater Thal Canal project has been stalled since 2007. It was revived by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf government, which arranged its own funds. However, ADB’s agreement to secure loan for the project is yet to be signed,” the chief minister said.
He further said that all the projects related to flood rehabilitation were included in ECNIC meeting, but not a single project of Punjab was discussed.
Chief Minister Elahi talked about not receiving a single penny for the flood victims of the province and accused himself of corruption.
