The National Assembly on Tuesday saw a fierce debate on the land designated by the government for corporate farming, with lawmakers from Sindh questioning how the area would be irrigated amidst prevailing water shortages for the province’s farmers.
Under the Green Pakistan Initiative, the government has allocated 4.8 million acres of “barren land”—covering all four provinces and Gilgit-Baltistan—to an Army-owned company for corporate farming. In a calling attention notice, PPP leader Naveed Qamar opposed the proposal, citing the country’s “water-stressed” status as a barrier to further farming.
Questioning where the water required to irrigate the designated land would come from, he recalled that an earlier government desire to construct the Kalabagh Dam had similarly failed to take off due to Sindh and Balochistan’s fears of water losses. “You are talking about additional water usage at the cost of old users,” he claimed, alleging water for corporate farming would facilitate the rich while displacing the poor.
Similarly, PPP leader Khursheed Shah noted that the corporate farming agreement was inked by a caretaker government and not any elected leadership. PPP MNA Ghulam Ali Talpur, meanwhile, suggested granting the same land to locals for cultivation.
Responding to the concerns, Water Resources Minister Musadik Malik noted the required land for the corporate farming had already been identified, adding 0.81 million acres of the land was located in Sindh and Punjab and had been acquired by the caretaker government. He said both provinces had signed contracts for the deal under their interim regimes, while discussions were ongoing with the Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan governments.
He urged the Sindh lawmakers to approach the provincial government, noting it was its right to reverse the agreement signed by the caretakers. However, he added, this must be done “under the constitutional mechanism.” As such, he continued, the matter would have to be examined by the Council of Common Interests (CCI).
Outlining the aims of the Green Pakistan Initiative, Malik said it was a joint venture between the provincial governments and domestic and foreign investors, who would get a 40 percent share of the profit. Another 20 percent of the profit, he said, would be spent on research and development to enhance agricultural productivity.
He claimed that the required water would be utilized from the already allocated share of the respective province, and explained that the Punjab government was funding the Cholistan Canal scheme for it. The plan, he said, called for Punjab to provide the canal with water from its share for four months, while floodwaters would be utilized for the two monsoon months. He urged the speaker to establish a committee headed by either Qamar or Shah to thoroughly discuss the issue.
Legislative business
During the session, JUIF MNA Noor Alam Khan moved a bill to repeal the Contempt of Court Ordinance, stripping superior court judges of the power to initiate contempt cases. PTI MNA Gohar Ali Khan opposed the bill after which it was referred to the relevant standing committee.
Similarly, a private member bill seeking to increase the number of Supreme Court judges was deferred after the government said it had not made any final decision on the matter and the PTI MNA said as judges draw salaries from federal consolidated funds, a money bill cannot be moved as a private member bill.
A third bill sought changes to the Supreme Court’s suo motu powers, a fourth aimed to bar dual nationality holders from becoming judges or civil servants; and a fifth sought the allocation of reserved seats for overseas Pakistanis in both houses of parliament and provincial assemblies.