Prime Minister Imran Khan today directed Ministry of Water Resources and Planning Division to coordinate with provincial governments and formulate a comprehensive plan with delineated timelines for undertaking urban water schemes for all major cities on priority basis. The Prime Minister has also directed that water supply scheme for Rawalpindi and Islamabad by Punjab Government and the Federal Government, respectively, be started immediately. The Prime Minister was chairing a briefing on Ministry of Water Resources at Prime Minister’s Office today. Minister for Finance Mr. Asad Umar, Minister for Planning Mr. Khusro Bakhtiyar, Minister for Power Mr. Omar Ayub Khan, Advisor to PM Malik Amin Aslam Khan, Secretaries of Water Resources, Economic Affairs Division, Food Security & Research, Chairman WAPDA and senior officers were present during the meeting. The Prime Minister was briefed in detail about the overall situation regarding the availability of water in the country, situation of storage of water and the issues being faced towards ensuring water security for a growing population of the country. The Prime Minister was informed that the current water storage capacity of around 13.7 maf was far below the international standards and needs to be enhanced on priority basis. It was also informed that there was an urgent need to check unregulated abstraction of ground water which has resulted into fast depletion of aquifers. The Prime Minister directed that a comprehensive plan along with a legislative framework should be worked out for ensuring maximum utilization of the surface water and reversing the existing trend of unabated pumping of groundwater. The Prime Minister was also briefed about the progress on various development projects and construction of small, medium and large dams. Discussing the obstacles in construction of Dasu dam, the Prime Minister directed that the issue of acquisition of land and settlement with the affectees of Dasu dam should be resolved on priority basis in consultation with the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and taking into account legitimate demands of the affectees. The Prime Minister emphasized that the Land Acquisition Act 1984 needs to be revisited in order to make it more relevant with the present time. The Prime Minister underscored the need for an integrated planning and enhanced coordination between relevant departments i.e. WADPA, Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Energy, Planning Division and other stakeholders while planning and execution of major projects of national importance. The Prime Minister also directed that a comprehensive plan should be formulated to promote off-grid solutions including harnessing of solar and wind potential of the country. ***** ?
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