Peshawar   -   A high level meeting regarding better management, conservation and efficient use of water resources in the province, was held here at Chief Minister’s House Peshawar on Friday with the Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur in the chair.

Provincial Minister for Agriculture Major (Retd) Muhammad Sajjad Barkwal, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Amjad Ali Khan, Secretary Irrigation Muhammad Tahir Orakzai, higher authorities of agriculture and public health engineering and International Water Management Institute attended the meeting.

It was decided in the meeting to launch the UK government funded Water Resource Accountability Program (WRAP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is aimed at to providing technical assistance to the provincial government in managing, preserving and utilising the available water resources in a more efficient and judicious manner.

Under the programme, International Water Management Institute will extend technical assistance to the provincial government in six different interventions including Water Accounting and Productivity Assessment Tools, Early Drought Warning System, Water Resource Management Information System, Irrigation Demand Management, Water Allocation System and Capacity Building and Analytical Support. Initially, the programme would be launched as pilot project in two districts i.e Charsadda and Mansehra, and later on, would be replicated to the other districts across the province.

It was decided that proper MoUs would be signed between the lined provincial departments and International Water Management Institute for implementation of this program.

Addressing the participants, the Chief Minister said that the water conservation and its judicious use is the need of hour, as it has become more relevant in line with the climate change impacts.

That’s why the provincial government is working under a comprehensive strategy not only to preserve the available water resources but to use them in an efficient and beneficent manner.

He said that the provincial government will welcome the technical support of International Water Management Institute in this regard.  He maintained that Water Resource Accountability Programme will be helpful to improve water use efficiency in addition to paving the path of agricultural self-sufficiency of the province. He assured that the government will extend all out support to implement the interventions suggested under this programme.