Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday said the benefits of devolution had not reached the grassroots over the past 15 years, stressing the transfer of powers and resources to local governments for effective service delivery and development.
\nAddressing the national inception workshop and launch of the Technical Working Group on \u201cIntegrated Land & Water Use Planning,\u201d he said devolution itself was not the problem, but its implementation had stopped at the provincial level.
\n\u201cIt is not that devolution was wrong; it should have been devolution. The whole world is being devolved,\u201d the minister said, stressing that powers should also flow from provinces to district and municipal governments.
\nHe said the 18th Amendment had devolved substantial responsibilities to the provinces in 2010, but local governments were not given corresponding powers and resources.
\n\u201cIf you give a local government a responsibility, but there is no power or resources behind that responsibility, then that responsibility becomes a burden,\u201d he remarked.
\nAhsan Iqbal said Pakistan needed a development ecosystem based on effective coordination between the federation and provinces, coupled with empowered local institutions capable of translating national priorities into improved services and outcomes.
\nHe said this was particularly important for agriculture, which remained a key driver of the national economy and a major source of livelihoods, food security and export potential.
\nDespite its agricultural resources, Pakistan had become a net agricultural importing country, importing around $4-5 billion worth of agricultural products annually, he noted.
\nThe minister said the country needed to move from dependence on agricultural imports towards becoming a food-exporting economy by improving productivity and fully exploiting its land and water resources.
\nHe cautioned that this objective could not be achieved without protecting productive farmland from unchecked urban expansion.
\n\u201cAgriculture and food do not grow in the air. Agriculture and food grow on land,\u201d he said, emphasizing the need to strike a balance between food production and the growing requirements of cities.
\nHe said productive agricultural areas, including citrus orchards in Sargodha, mango orchards in Multan and areas producing high-quality basmati rice around Gujranwala, needed protection from unplanned urbanization.
\n\u201cProductive farmland and urban growth needs to be harmonized,\u201d Ahsan said, calling for evidence-based land-use planning and vertical rather than unchecked horizontal expansion of cities.
\nHe said Pakistan\u2019s rapidly growing population was adding pressure on food resources, while declining per-capita water availability had made water security an equally serious challenge.
\nThe minister called for a coordinated national framework involving the federation and provinces to address food, land and water issues, saying fragmented efforts could not deliver sustainable results.
\nHe also highlighted the need to regulate groundwater extraction, assess aquifers\u2019 sustainable capacity, and promote groundwater recharge.
\nHe viewed that solar-powered pumping had made groundwater extraction easier, making effective regulation increasingly important.
\nAhsan Iqbal said the Integrated Land & Water Use Planning initiative would help develop an evidence-based framework to protect productive agricultural land, manage urban growth and secure Pakistan\u2019s future food and water requirements.
\nHe linked the initiative with the government\u2019s 5Es framework, saying food and water security were essential components of a stable and sustainable high-growth economy.
\nReferring to the country\u2019s broader development challenge, the minister said Pakistan had often demonstrated the ability to formulate ambitious plans but had struggled with implementation.
\n\u201cThe real thing is not that we do not know how to make plans. We can make very good plans, but our problem is to act on them,\u201d he said.
\nHe said Pakistan was now at an \u201cinflexion point\u201d and could not afford to repeat past mistakes, calling for collective action and effective implementation of development strategies.
\n\u201cWe can either swim or we can sink. There is no third option. Therefore, we have to swim,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday said the benefits of devolution had not reached the grassroots over the past 15 years, stressing the transfer of powers and resources to local governments for effective service delivery and development. Addressing the national inception workshop and launch of the Technical Working […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":483724,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-566329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-national"],"yoast_head":"\n