Chandigarh, Jan17 (UNI) Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has convened an all-party meeting on January 23, to evolve a comprehensive strategy to tackle the critical water situation in the light of the fast-depleting water resources in the state.
Captain Singh disclosed this in the Vidhan Sabha on Friday, on the second day of the two-day special session of the House. He was intervening in a discussion on ' The Punjab Water Resources (Management and Regulation) Bill 2020', introduced by his government. Invitations for the meeting had already been sent out, he disclosed, adding that all matters related to water issues in the state, including the SYL issue, poor quality of ground water and pollution caused by industrial and domestic waste, would also be thoroughly discussed during the all party meeting, in a bid to evolve consensus to chalk out a detailed strategy to address these problems.
The Bill, introduced by Irrigation Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, was later passed by the House unanimously, thus paving the way for the creation of Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority to manage the critical water resource in the state. Both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) supported the Bill, expressing grave concern over the scarce water resources and the depleting ground water table in the state.