ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif yesterday said that under an agreement reached between the Federal and Balochistan provincial governments, a total of 28,000 agricultural tube wells in the province would be shifted to solar system within three months.

Talking to media after the agreement signing ceremony, the prime minister said the federal government would provide 70 percent funds while 30 percent would be contributed by the provincial government for Rs 55 billion solarization project. The prime minister met the provincial cabinet in which the federal ministers and Governor Balochistan Jafar Khan Mandokhel and Chief Minister Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti were present, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release. Earlier, the prime minister witnessed an agreement signing ceremony between the federal and the provincial governments for shifting of electricity run tube wells to solar powered mechanism.The prime minister tasked the chief minister to complete the solarization project within three months. He opined that the completion of project would ensure prosperity of the farmers and bring a large area of cultivable land under farming, adding that with functioning of the solar powered tube wells, the farmers would get uninterrupted power supply throughout the day.

During his address to the provincial cabinet, he termed the agreement as ‘a deep structured change’ firmly rooted in the government’s conceived reforms agenda, he said that a huge sum of Rs500 billion would be saved from going down the drain.The prime minister said that the federal government would be absolve of paying Rs80-90 billion burden which was provided as subsidy to the province due to non-payment of bills and still the farmers community was getting 2 to 6 hours power supply.  With the solarization process, the issue would be resolved forever, he expressed the hope.The prime mister said that throughout the world, the utilization of solar capacity was tapped for generation of environment friendly power which was considered as the inexpensive source of power. He said that the government was taking steps on priority basis for the provision of solar power and assured that the federal government would work closely with the provincial government for the uplift of the province.Later the prime minister attended the Balochistan cabinet meeting where Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti expressed the gratitude to PM Shehbaz Sharif for announcing a project of conversion of 28000 tube wells on solar power.  He said the special attention of the prime minister for the development and prosperity of the people of Balochistan was worth appreciable. 

"The way you have worked on priority basis with regard to shifting of agricultural tubewells to solar energy is unprecedented," the Balochistan Chief Minister said. The project of converting more than 27,000 agricultural tube wells to solar energy in Balochistan would provide relief to the people associated with the agricultural sector and save billions of rupees in subsidy given to QESCO, he added.