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Rs 3.8b for saline land reclamation project
Lahore—Punjab government has deferred the project
for rehabilitation of 168,754 acres of ‘marginal lands’ due to
non-availability of gypsum, an essential mineral for eradication of
salinity.
The salinity is responsible for an annual loss of Rs 10 billion due
to the arable land becoming barren in the rice-wheat growing belt,
while the total annual loss in the irrigated areas of the Indus
plain is computed to be Rs 20 billion on account of decreased agri
productivity.
Agriculture experts quoting studies on the subject informed a high
level meeting that the project which was to be implemented in four
districts would require 11,000 bags of gypsum per day, which would
jump up to 22,000 bags per day during the second year of the
project, and such a huge quantity of gypsum is not available.
“The total production of gypsum from across the province ranges
between 10,000 to 15,000 bags per day, which is already being
consumed by private sector cement factories and another government
project”, sources observed, adding that if the project is launched
it would be a zero-sum game for all clients. The meeting recorded
this as the main reason for deferring the project.
A Punjab agriculture department report meanwhile states that soil
and water salinity and ‘sodicity’ have become a huge threat to
sustainability of agriculture in the country, resulting in
significant reduction in crop yields with lands going out of
cultivation rapidly.
Surveys show that salt affected land in the country has increased to
6.8 million hectares (one hectare = 2.5 acres), adding 1.0 ton to
2.47 tons salts per hectare, making 0.2 to 0.4 percent arable land
un-cultivable due to salinity and water logging.
It has been tabulated that the soil going barren has had adverse
socio-economic impact affecting 16 million people, says the
report.—APP
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