R A W A L P I N D I : Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chatha on Thursdaydirected all the deputy commissioners in Rawalpindi division that at least one thousand acresshouldbeinereased in the command area of dams in each district by next Wednesday.

He directed that an urgent list of ongoing works facing delay due to unavailability of funds should also be prepared and submitted so that the concerned forum can be contacted to speed up its resolution.

The commissioner was briefed thatatpresent36 dams were active in Rawalpindi division while five were inactive.Among them seven dams are active in Rawalpindi district, 15 in Attock, eight in Jhelum and six in Chakwal.

Before the intervention of task force formed by the commissioner, the total command area of these dams was 27973 acres which has now increased to 30,067 acres while 40 minors/channels have also been incorporatedin the revenue records.

Director Health Dr Anser Ishaq, Director Colleges Sher Ahmed Satiand other concerned officials attended meeting in person whereasdeputy commissioners Attock, Jhelum and Chakwal participated through video link.

The commissioner said that the task force formed for each dam had the responsibility to inspect whether the command area being irrigated by the dam was as per the design criteria and if there was any problem related to irrigation water supply.

The commissioner was told that actions taken by the task force resultedin increasing the command area of dams and active participation of farmersand community as well as resolving small project disputes on site through grassroots level coordination.

It also helped in increasing crops productivity and generating new employment opportunities.

In addition, water courses have been included in revenue records and Abyana (irrigation tax) mechanism has been framed.

Likewise, equal and free distribution of water has been ensured and maximum command area brought under irrigation tax.