Islamabad (Staff Report/Agencies): Prime Minister Imran Khan has emphasized upon following an integrated approach for conservation, storage, management and efficient utilization of the available water resources.
Chairing the first meeting of National Water Council (NWC) in Islamabad on Thursday, the PM underscored the need for chalking out a comprehensive road-map in consultation with provinces and other stakeholders for implementation of National Water Policy.
The prime minister said that the NWC will serve as an effective platform to develop consensus among the stakeholders on all issues pertaining to water resource management.
Secretary Water Resources Shamail Ahmad Khawaja briefed the meeting about the contours of National Water Policy and the strategic priorities set in the policy.
He also apprised the meeting about the existing water availability and the planned future investments especially towards the enhancement of the storage capacity. The secretary also presented various proposals regarding the implementation of National Water Policy.
WAPDA chairman briefed the meeting about the progress on various projects of water storage and power generation.
Prime Minister Imran Khan directed that the proposals should be analyzed by the steering committee under the minister for water resources. The steering committee would submit its recommendations in two weeks’ time.
Those who attended the meeting included 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 PM Malik Amin Aslam, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah, Chief Minister KP Mahmood Khan, Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan, Chief Minister Gilgit Baltistan Hafiz Hafeez-ur-Rehman, Prime Minister AJK Raja M Farooq Haider Khan, provincial ministers, federal secretaries, chief secretaries, Chairman WAPDA and senior officials.