DUSHANBE, January 23, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- The Ministry of Land Reclamation and Water Resources (LRWR) intends to take the country’s irrigation system under its control.

Minister of Land Reclamation and Water Resources Said Yoqubzod told reporters on January 21 that the ministry jointly with international experts had prepared proposals on improvement of the irrigation system and water supply in the country.

Under these proposals, all water collector networks, irrigation systems and water pump stations of the country should be handed over to the LRWR jurisdiction, he noted.

“At present, farming units, on territories of which these networks are located, are responsible for maintaining them,” said the minister, “However, farming units do not do this, and therefore, lands are degrading.”

Of 26,193 kilometers of the country’s irrigation system, only 6,041 kilometers, or 23 percent, are now under jurisdiction of the ministry, Yoqubzod added.