Pakistan wasting water worth around $2 billion: minister

LAHORE: Pakistan is looking for around $2 billion, while it is wasting water worth $10 to $15 billion every year, said Syed Khurshid Shah, federal minister for water resources on Saturday.

Speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), he said that the water capacity of the country is 140 million acres feet but the storage capacity is only 13 million acres feet.

The infrastructure has been built, which will increase the storage capacity by 14 to 15 million acres feet, he said, adding that 80 per cent economy is related to agriculture.

Almost 50 to 60 years ago, the rupee and dollar were almost equal but today there is a huge difference.

According to Shah, the main reason is the lack of trust and confusion. In 1994/95, an agreement was signed to produce cheap electricity from coal but it was terminated as soon as the government changed, he noted.

Pakistan is a rich and resourceful country and if it is guided in the right direction, it can become self-reliant, the minister said, adding that they have made 30 legislations in a day, which is a record.

LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir stressed the need to build dams without any further delay and said that the floods are getting worsened with the passage of time.

Floods and droughts play havoc with the country, he said, adding that Iran is saving water by manmade lakes, while Pakistan is wasting it to the sea.

Unfortunately, the economic issues are not being discussed in the cabinet, Kabir said, adding that the era of geopolitics is over and now is the era of geo-economy. The devastating floods have played havoc and created newer and bigger challenges. This scenario calls for immediate steps by all the segments of the society to rescue the marooned people and arrange maximum support to the internally-displaced, the LCCI president said.
Whenever any natural calamity occurred, the LCCI has always make all-out efforts.

“We have not only created Flood Relief Fund worth Rs50 million but also supplying tents, foods items to the affected areas,” he said, adding that the LCCI has decided to rebuild a village of 100 houses. This would be a community-based development project, which will include a school, a technical training centre, a healthcare centre for the general public and another healthcare centre for animals.

“We have planned to supply electricity to villages through solar panels and ensure full arrangements for proper sanitation,” Kabir said.

This situation calls for construction of new dams, either small or big, to mitigate the devastations of floods.
“If water reservoirs were built, the situation would not have been that worse,” he added.

He drew the attention of the minister towards Pakistan’s energy mix and said that 60 per cent of energy is still generated from expensive fossil fuel-based thermal resources, while the share of cheaper renewables, including solar, wind, etc, is less than 5 per cent.

The existing inefficient energy mix makes the sector highly vulnerable to the fluctuation in the global oil prices and results in tariff hikes, subsidies and circular debt. These factors altogether hamper the competitiveness of the industrial sector, he said, adding that there is a need to focus on the renewable energy, particularly solar.

The inflation rate for August 2022 had already gone up to 27.3 per cent and the issue of excessive electricity bills is adding fuel to the fire.

The honourable courts have also given the directives that the fuel adjustment charges should not be collected from the consumers. Despite these orders, the power distribution companies are collecting fuel adjustment charges. This practice is unfair and adversely impacting the competitiveness of businesses.

“We request that the fuel adjustment charges already collected from the consumers should be refunded,” he added.

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