PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Wednesday launched the E-Abiyana App under the Irrigation Department as part of its Digital Khyber Pakhtunkhwa initiative. Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Muhammad Sohail Afridi formally inaugurated the application at a ceremony held at the Chief Minister House in Peshawar. The E-Abiyana system has been introduced as a pilot project in the Mardan Irrigation Division and will be rolled out across the province in a phased manner. Under the new system, the entire process of Abiyana collection - official fee/tax for canal irrigation water - has been digitized to ensure secure, transparent and easily accessible records. READ MORE: KP agri dept, FACE join hands for agri research During the briefing, it was informed that land and water usage data had been integrated into a single digital platform, which is expected to improve record accuracy and enhance the operational efficiency of the department. The system would help address long-standing issues such as low recovery rates, delays in payments and administrative inefficiencies, while also supporting the achievement of annual revenue targets. Digital dashboards will be introduced to strengthen administrative oversight and facilitate timely decision-making. Addressing the ceremony, the Chief Minister appreciated the Irrigation Department, the Department of Science, Technology and Information Technology, and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa IT Board for the launch of the application, describing it as a step towards improving transparency in governance. He said that, in line with the vision of PTI founding Chairman Imran Khan, the provincial government is steadily advancing towards digitization, with government departments being transformed under the Digital Khyber Pakhtunkhwa initiative. He said that 60 to 70 percent of provincial departmental operations had already been digitized, with a target to complete the process by June of the current fiscal year. The Chief Minister said that farmers are key stakeholder in the province’s economy and that addressing their concerns remains a priority of the government. He added that practical measures are being undertaken to place Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on a path of sustainable development. Referring to the Chashma Right Bank Lift Canal project, the Chief Minister expressed concern over delays, attributing them to a lack of seriousness on the part of the federal government. He said that the province had already paid its due share for the project and that outstanding dues remain pending at the federal level, adding that meaningful cooperation was not being extended on major provincial initiatives. He further said that 85 percent of work on the Gabral Hydropower Project had been completed, but the required no-objection certificates for foreign workers is not been issued despite repeated correspondence with the federal government over the past eight months. Such delays, he said, were contributing to delays in development of the country and promoting a sense of deprivation among the people of the province. The Chief Minister maintained that the PTI-led provincial government had delivered on governance and development, noting that public confidence for a third consecutive term is evidence of the popularity of Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf. He alleged that the Federal Government and the Punjab administration are adopting a discriminatory approach towards Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including delays in the release of billions of rupees in outstanding dues. He added that even limited fiscal releases to the province were subjected to media trial, while similar treatment on fiscal releases is not extended to other provinces. Concluding his remarks, the Chief Minister stated that discrimination against any one province is detrimental to the entire country. He pointed out that while Imran Khan remains unjustly imprisoned and is being handed consecutive sentences in politically motivated cases, an IMF report has pointed out corruption amounting to Rs. 5,300 billion, yet no questions are being raised which clearly reflects blatant double standard. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026