Meghalaya Cabinet approves draft water policy; urges conservation of resource in state

Shillong: The Meghalaya Cabinet has approved a draft water policy to address water usage and issues of conservation and protection of water sources in the state. Chaired by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, the cabinet on Friday discussed at length the various aspects of the draft policy before approving it, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said. [caption id=“attachment_4294071” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma. Twitter @sangmaconrad[/caption] “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,” Tynsong said. The policy was drafted by the state water resources department in consultation with experts in water conservation and protection of water bodies. The deputy chief minister said that Meghalaya being a hilly state, receives a lot of rainfall but the same water cannot be retained and it reaches Bangladesh in no time. Among the other issues discussed on the policy was the need to optimise usage and conservation of water, steps needed to protect water bodies and water sources including ground water and protection of catchment and springshed areas. Recently, the state government has launched the Jal Shakti mission to address the problems related to water. The state cabinet has also approved the proposal of the finance department to hike the salary of chairman and members of the Meghalaya Public Service Commission based on the recommendations of the fifth Meghalaya Pay Commission.