ISLAMABAD, Mar 1 (TNS): Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Thursday while pointing to depleting water resources called for effective measures for conservation and scientific management of water resources to cater to the needs of the growing population.
Chairing a meeting here at the PM Office on a draft National Water Policy, the prime minister called for putting in place a robust framework to conserve freshwater, which was a finite resource and was steadily depleting.
The premier directed that the draft policy be shared with the provinces for an early finalization. He emphasized that input from the provinces was a must for a consensus before forwarding it to Council of Common Interests, a statement from the PM Office said.
Minister for Interior and Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Sartaj Aziz, Minister for Power Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari, federal secretaries and others also attended the meeting.
Sartaj Aziz briefed the meeting on the proposed National Water Policy that would put in place a policy framework for ensuring effective management and conservation of existing water resources, improving availability, reliability, and quality of fresh water to meet critical municipal, agricultural, energy and food security needs besides addressing the environmental concerns.
The draft policy addresses critical issues of reduction in wastage of water, enhancement of water storage capacity from 14 MAF to at least 28 MAF through a network of small, medium and large-sized storage reservoirs, increasing efficiency of water use by producing more crop per drop, gradual replacement and refurbishing of irrigation infrastructure and setting up of realistic and achievable targets in consultation with the provinces.
