KP CM writes to PM over delay in CRBC project
PESHAWAR
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has written to the prime minister, expressing strong concern over what he termed the “continuous and deliberate delay” in the Chashma Right Bank Canal (CRBC) project, saying the 35-year wait for its launch has created distrust between the federation and the province.
The chief minister noted that among the mega irrigation projects envisaged for all four provinces, the CRBC Lift Canal remains the only one that has seen no progress. He said that under the 1991 Water Apportionment Accord, irrigation projects of the other three provinces had already been completed.
Afridi recalled that in 2016, the Council of Common Interests (CCI) had agreed that the federal government would provide 65 per cent of the project’s financing, while KP would contribute 35 per cent. He alleged that the Centre had “deliberately put Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s projects in cold storage”.
He said ECNEC had formally approved the Rs189 billion project in October 2022, yet implementation had not begun. He also accused WAPDA of repeatedly delaying procurement and pre-qualification processes.
The chief minister stated that the provincial government had released Rs2 billion in 2024-25 for land acquisition and allocated another Rs5 billion for 2025-26, but added that WAPDA’s land acquisition drive was also progressing at a slow pace. He criticised the federal government for allocating only Rs100 million for the project in the 2025-26 PSDP, calling it a “frivolous attitude”.
Afridi stressed that the CRBC project would play a pivotal role in transforming the economy and agriculture of terrorism-affected areas, adding that it could yield annual economic benefits of Rs38 billion and irrigate over 280,000 acres of land.
He urged the federal government to immediately provide funding, without relying on PSDP or donor financing, and to start practical work on the project without further delay. Continued postponement, he warned, would fuel anxiety and deepen the crisis of confidence among the people of KP.
