Chief Secretary B.K Agarwal has asked all the departments of the state government to work for rain water harvesting, maintenance and upkeep of ponds and village tanks and conservation of water. He said that there is a pressing need to launch the Jal Shakti Abhiyan in all the districts of the state for achieving the target of water conservation in real sense.He was presiding over a meeting of senior officers of various departments held here today to discuss the issues to water resource management. The detailed discussion was held during the meeting focused on sustainability and restoration of water bodies, ground water, participatory irrigation practices, water supply and sanitation, rain water harvesting, re-use of treated waste water and shifting focus from expenditure based policy to outcome based policy.
It was decided to constitute a state level committee under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary to co-ordinate and run the Jal Shakti Abhiyan across the state. The Chief Secretary directed for preparation of action plan at the district level and reorientation of departmental activities to outcome based approach. He said there is need to reorienting water harvesting policy to ensure use of harvested water.The Deputy Commissioners and Additional Deputy Commissioners of water stressed districts- Sirmaur, Solan, Una and Kangra gave presentations on work done for water conservation and also raised the problems they are facing in this effort. The presentations were also made by various different departments highlighting their progress on water harvesting.Secretary IPH Dr. R.N Batta, Secretary. Administrative Reforms Dr. Purnima Chauhan, Director, Power Mansi Sahay Thakur, representatives from Central Water Commission and SATHI NGO and other senior officers of various departments attended the meeting.