LAHORE, Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah, the federal minister for water resources, stated on Saturday that every effort was being made to increase the nation’s water storage capacity.
In an address to the business community at the Lahore Industrial Development Corporation, he said, “We were hoping to raise crop output to enhance our export, but the floods caused tremendous damage to the national economy” (LCCI) .
He claimed that although Pakistan has a 140 million acre-foot water potential, only 13 million acre-feet could be stored. The infrastructure being built, according to the federal minister, will enhance storage capacity by 14 to 15 million acre-feet.
According to him, agriculture accounts for 80% of Pakistan’s economy, but this crucial industry has long been neglected. He claimed that the nation wasted rainfall worth $10–15 billion USD annually and that “we go to the globe for USD $2 billion aid.”
“We had realized the current predicament four or five years ago, and the opposition had suggested an economic charter to the then government, but it should have been requested of the opposition by the government,” a nation with creativity. “If it’s moved in the right direction, it might become independent,” he continued.
The minister notified the business community that it was a record for the legislature to adopt 30 laws for the general welfare in a single day.
The minister said that while the value of the dollar and the rupee were about equal 50 to 60 years ago, they were significantly different today and that suitable and long-lasting actions were required to address the currency’s depreciation against the rupee.
According to him, an agreement to create inexpensive power from coal was reached in 1994–1995 but was immediately canceled when the administration changed.
He praised the LCCI’s work on behalf of those impacted by the flood. He claimed that in the industrialized economies, the corporate community had taken the lead.
