Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was creating hurdles for the establishment of South Punjab as Saraiki Province.

The PML-N miscreants had tabled resolution in the Punjab Assembly to reinstate Bahawalpur province to further divide the South Punjab province, she said in an exclusive interview with APP here Thursday.

“It is a test case for Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and PML-N as both the parties in their former regimes have raised the slogan of a separate province that is unfulfilled for the past decade,” she added.

Zartaj noted that there was also issue of name and jurisdiction of the new province which needs consensus of all and Lahore singlehandedly could not control the entire province as with the increasing population the problems and challenges had increased manifold.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had the earnest objective to set up Saraiki province where 2/3 majority was the major challenge for the government.

She informed that the South Punjab had huge potential of power generation as alone Dera Ghazi Khan (D.G Khan)’s hill torrents had over 1.2 million cusecs water reservoir capacity that could alone generate electricity more than Tarbela Dam.

“As many as three small dams have been approved by the Punjab government to be built at the hill torrents of D.G Khan to conserve the torrential rains’ flood water which would help generate electricity,” she added.

In order to curb the unrestrained underground water drilling a Water Table Regulatory Authority was on the cards that would help regulate underground water pumping and help safe the depleting aquifers (underground water) that had declined below 1200 feet in Balochistan.

She also hinted towards some bureaucratic hiccups hampering the approval of the Authority to take the lead of the initiative as it was their ministry’s mandate. The prime minister had given his approval to formulate the body whereas the provincial governments of Sindh and Balochistan were also on board.