Water shortage: Parliament to consider water policy

The government is to table a National Water Policy in Parliament within two months.

ISLAMABAD: The government is to table a National Water Policy (NWP) in Parliament within two months aimed at evolving consensus among provinces on major issues. An official of the ministry of water and power said the new policy aims to address issues of increasing water shortage as well as problems related to productivity and costing. A draft of the proposed NWP, which is being reviewed by provincial governments, deals with issues of regulation of groundwater use, uncaptured downstream flows, overuse of water by industrial and municipal services, paucity of drinking water and saline water treatment as well as the impact of global warming. After the recommendations of Friends of Democratic Pakistan and the United States Agency for International Development have been finalised, the policy is to be tabled in Parliament for approval.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 29^th, 2011.