New Delhi, Feb 19 (NationPress) During a regional conference, officials from the Jal Shakti Ministry and various states reached a consensus to enhance collaboration and expedite the progress of existing water resources projects/schemes, particularly focusing on dam safety and flood management, as stated by an official on Thursday.

V. L. Kantha Rao, the Secretary of the Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD & GR), presided over this important Regional Conference of State Water Secretaries. The event concluded with a strong call for developing and implementing integrated strategies aimed at the sustainable and effective development of water resources.

The discussions highlighted the need to move towards digital governance in water management, which includes the adoption of SCADA-based real-time monitoring, API-driven data sharing to issue flood alerts, and the enhancement of the Flood Watch mobile application for field officials, according to an official statement.

This conference was designed to facilitate deeper engagement with states, aiming to strengthen the coordination between the center and states and speed up the implementation of ongoing water resource projects/schemes.

It gathered Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, Secretaries, and other senior officials from Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, NCT Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal.

The main agenda focused on a thorough review of the execution of various schemes under DoWR, RD & GR in the participating states, alongside the activities of its associated organizations, such as CWC, CGWB, NWDA, NIH, NDSA, and NWIC, and how these entities can provide their technical expertise to the states.

The officials also assessed the status of compliance with various advisories issued by DoWR, RD & GR, including those on Flood Plain Zoning, the National Framework on Sediment Management, and the implementation of the Dam Safety Act, 2021, as well as initiatives like Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari 2.0 and regulations on Groundwater Extraction.

State government representatives presented updates on the status of various schemes implemented by DoWR, RD & GR, raising concerns and expectations regarding support from the Union government, as noted in the statement.

The Secretary of DoWR and RD&GR evaluated the overall progress made by the states, providing assurances of comprehensive support to address pending issues and enhance the coordination between the Centre and the states for the effective execution of these various schemes.