HYDERABAD: A delegation of World Bank representatives held a meeting with Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) officebearers and members on Sunday for a briefing on the WB-funded Sindh Agriculture Growth Project (SAGP).

SCA president Dr Syed Nadeem Qamar chaired the meeting through video link.

The WB delegation was briefed about SCA`s concerns and reservations over the project and urged that expenditure under every tender be uploaded on the project`s website on a weekly basis so that anyone could access and study it. `It is necessary to ensure transparency in transactions of Rs8 billion being made under the project,` SCA leaders said.

WB officials Dr Saifullah Khokhar and Nazar Mahar were advised that instead of constructing a new building for livestock sector-related programme, the existing Red Sindhi cattle breeding research and training centreand hostel in Tando Mohammed Khan be used to avoid unnecessary expenditure.

Likewise, enhanced milk production could be ensure by providing certain facilities to cattle breeders, the SCA leaders said, adding that instead of making chiller plants available in eight districts as provided under the project, one veterinary doctor, relevant staff and medicines in four districts at the union council level for five years could serve the purpose.

Call to complete RBOD works The Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) has urged the government to immediately appoint the irrigation minister and announce a final date for the completion of the Right Bank OutfallDrain(RBOD),whose cost has now escalated to Rs30 billion from the original Rs14 billion.

The demands came at a meeting held here on Sunday under the chairmanship of SAB president Abdul Majeed Nizamani.

The meeting said that RBOD would save humanlives, irrigation and communication networks, livestock and standing crops worth billions of rupees in Sindh and Balochistan.

It also demanded that correct discharge be recorded at canals and distributaries; repair of perennial and nonperennial canals and regulators be completed by March 31; and the officials of the irrigation and other relevant departments found to be negligent be taken to task.

It suggested that tail gauges be installed for recording actual flows of all irrigation channels and encroachments of natural water courses be removed.

The meeting called for replacement of the 90-yearold head regulator of Mithrao canal.

SAB leaders` views On Saturday, Dr Khokhar and Mr Mahar held a meeting with Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) office-bearers and other representatives of farmers in the SAB office and expressed some degree of dissatisfaction over the progress SAGP in the crop sector. They said the pro-gress wise livestock component was relatively better.

They expressed the hope that the SAGP would start giving results within two months.The WB team made it clear to the other stakeholders that the institution had zero tolerance for corruption as it was public money. Mr Mahar said growers` support was crucial in ensuring transparency and controlling corruption.

SAGP project director Irshad Ansari, project coordinator Dr Fateh Mari, SAB president Abdul Majeed Nizamani, general secretary Dr Zulfikar Yusufani and others discussed various issues in detail.

The Sindh government was considering formation of management boards for onion and chillies research by involving farmers so that they could ensure efficiency and service delivery of these centres, he said.

Mr Nizamani appreciated WB`s resolve to meet growers directly to ensure their participation in project but regretted that over the years agriculture department didn`t deliver because officers had simply refused to work.