ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Sartaj Aziz Tuesday said keeping in view the rapidly decreasing per-capita water availability in Pakistan, more financial resources were required in order to build more water reservoirs.
“Pakistan’s per-capita water availability has been dropped to under 1,000 cubic feet as against 5000 cubic feet during 1950s,” Sartaj Aziz said while addressing a national consultative workshop on Climate Resilient Development in Islamabad.
The workshop was organized by ministry of Planning, Development, and Reforms in collaboration with the World Bank Group.
The Country Director Pakistan World Bank Patchamuthu Illango was also present on the occasion.
Sartaj Aziz informed that for the year 2018-19, the government had allocated 10 percent of total development budget for water projects under Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2018-19.
The Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission said the government, for the first time in Country’s history, had introduced water policy in which the government had recommended to build 10 million acre feet of water resources including Bhasha Dam.
The Deputy Chairman said Pakistan was facing acute water crisis and due to silting issue, the storage capacity of the dams was continuously dropping.
The World Bank Country Director said Pakistan was among seven largest Countries who were vulnerable to climate changes.
Patchamuthu Illango said the bank was supporting only those electricity projects which were environment friendly such as renewable and hydro power projects.
