Web Desk (LTN NEWS): Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Monday stated that the past PTI administration during its tenure had not implemented an Rs177 billion flood protection scheme that could have mitigated the disastrous impact of floods this year.
“During the last four years, the previous government did not spend a single penny from the National Flood Protection Programme (NFPP). As a result, the country is experiencing the worst calamity,” the minister remarked while addressing a gathering on Waseela-i-Khurak – a pilot project for enhanced nutrition.
He regretted that the situation would have been considerably different had the previous government pushed the approved project forward, but they chose not to spend a single dime on the project.
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He said the NFPP was initiated for building an integrated flood management system encompassing reservoir operations, flood forecasting and early warning, flood risk zoning, and watershed management with an allocation of Rs177bn. No progress was made which led the country to face the worst calamity, he added.
“The current flood situation could have been different had some work been done by the previous government through the NFPP,” he said while highlighting the fresh challenges which need to be addressed immediately.
The minister said the recent flood had not only claimed human lives but also harmed the infrastructure and livelihood at large.
The damage caused to crops and livelihood will surely result in serious food insecurity in the months to follow, he said. “It is time to scale up the experimental programs, particularly the food bank concept, to decrease food insecurity at large to sustain our present indices of nutrition.”
