The Regional State Water Secretaries Conference for the Western Region was held in Pune under the chairmanship of Shri V L Kantha Rao, Secretary, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, with a focus on building stronger and more synergistic Centre State partnerships in the water sector.
Senior officials from the Water Resources Departments of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Chandigarh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu participated in the conference. Officials from the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, New Delhi, along with heads of major organisations under the department, were also present.
While outlining the objectives of the conference, Shri V L Kantha Rao emphasised the need for effective utilisation of the services and works undertaken by various organisations of the department in the participating States and Union Territories. He underlined the importance of such regional conferences to enable detailed deliberations between the Centre and States and to lay the groundwork for a future national level conference on water resources.
The main agenda of the conference included a review of works executed by departmental organisations in the participating States and Union Territories, presentations by State and Union Territory representatives, discussions on issues and concerns raised during these presentations, and a review of the adoption and implementation of advisories issued by the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
Officials from the State governments made detailed presentations on actions taken in their respective jurisdictions in the field of water resources. The Secretary reviewed the overall progress achieved by the States and highlighted the critical importance of strengthening Centre State and inter State coordination for effective implementation of schemes and programmes. He stressed the need for timely completion of ongoing projects and for reducing coordination gaps to ensure time bound delivery of priority works.
In his concluding remarks, Shri V L Kantha Rao highlighted the significance of the conference in shaping integrated strategies for sustainable and efficient development and management of water resources in the Western Region. He reiterated the department’s commitment to extending full support to States and Union Territories for the planning, execution and management of water resources projects, with an emphasis on long term sustainability and cooperative federalism.
