Meghalaya: Cabinet Approves Draft Water Policy

The Meghalaya Cabinet has approved a draft water policy to address water usages, issues of conservation and protection of water source in the state.

The Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma discussed the various aspects of the policy before approving the draft policy.

Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said that all issues related to utilization of water and livelihood and how to preserve water bodies have been outlined in this policy including community participation in the implementation of this policy by constituting a water sanitation village council at the village level.

The state water resources department has drafted the policy in consultation with experts in water conservation and protection of water bodies. “Meghalaya receives a lot of rainfall being a hilly state but the same water cannot be retained and all water reaches Bangladesh in no time, said Deputy CM Tynsong.

The need to optimize usage and conservation of water, steps needed to protect water bodies and water sources including ground-water and protection of catchment and springshed areas have also been discussed on the policy.

The Meghalaya government has also launched the Jal Shakti mission to address the problems related to water.

The finance department’s proposal to hike the salary of chairman and members of the Meghalaya Public Service Commission has also been approved by the cabinet based on the recommendations of the fifth Meghalaya Pay Commission.

Staff Report GTM