ISLAMABAD: In the maiden meeting of National Water Council on Thursday, Prime Minister Imran Khan underscored the dire need of integrated approach for conservation, storage, management and efficient utilisation of the available water resources in the country.
Chairing the meeting of the council, PM Khan highlighted the issue of water scarcity to meet the growing demands of increasing population of the country.
He pointed out that no significant attention was paid to water-related issues in the past, saying that there is a need for chalking out a comprehensive road-map, in consultation with provinces and other stakeholders, for the implementation of National Water Policy (NWP).
The premier expressed that the National Water Council would serve as an effective platform to discuss and develop consensus among the stakeholders on all issues pertaining to water resource management.
The prime minister was of the view that Council would serve as an effective platform to discuss and develop consensus among the stakeholders on all issues pertaining to water resource management.
Water Resources Secretary Shamail Ahmad Khawaja briefed the meeting in detail about the contours of the policy and the strategic priorities set in it. The secretary apprised the meeting about the existing water availability and the planned future investments especially towards enhancement of the storage capacity.
WAPDA chairman briefed the meeting about the progress on various projects of water storage and power generation. Water resources secretary also presented various proposals regarding implementation of NWP.
The prime minister directed that the proposals be analysed by the steering committee under the minister for water resources. The steering committee would submit its recommendations in two weeks’ time.
Others who attended the meeting were Minister for Finance Asad Umar, Minister for Planning Khusro Bakhtiar, Minister for Power Omar Ayub, Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda, Minister for National Food Security Sahibzada Mehboob Sultan, Advisor to Prime Minister Malik Amin Aslam, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan, Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman, AJK Prime Minister Raja M Farooq Haider Khan, provincial ministers, federal secretaries and chief secretaries.
