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Senate Water Resources Committee assesses project status, staffing issues & flood data updates

ISLAMABAD, August 02 (SABAH): Senator Shahadat Awan chaired the meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Water Resources held on Friday at Parliament House.

The Senate Committee reviewed the updated status of recommendations given in its previous meeting. The Committee had previously recommended that the ministry submit a report on the investigations conducted in RBOD-I and III. The Secretary for the Ministry of Water Resources, Syed Ali Murtaza, informed that the projects were completed on time but were damaged due to the torrential rains and floods of 2022. WAPDA has prepared PC-I and now requires concurrence from the Sindh Irrigation Department, as RBOD-I and RHOD-III are managed by the Sindh Government.

Additionally, the Committee recommended that vacant posts up to BS-16 in the ministry and commission be filled as soon as possible. The Federal Minister for Water Resources stated that a request was made to the Federal Public Service Commission 13 years ago to fill these vacant posts, but they have not been filled to date. The Ministry has now initiated the process and submitted a request to the Establishment Division to fill the vacant posts up to BS-16.

Furthermore, the Committee recommended that the Federal Flood Commission (FFC) update its website regularly with current data on rivers and the monsoon. The Secretary for the Ministry of Water Resources confirmed that the FFC website is reviewed regularly, with weather and flood updates uploaded daily.

Additionally, the Committee unanimously ratified the nomination of Senator Saadia Abbasi as a member of the Board of Governors of the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources.

Moreover, the Committee held an In Camera session to deliberate on the recent developments in Indus Water Treaty, 1960.

The Meeting was attended by Senator Mohammad Humayun Mohmand, Senator Saeed Ahmed Hashmi, Senator Poonjo Bheel, Senator Hidayatullah Khan, Senator Khalil Tahir, Federal Minister for Water Resources Senator Dr. Musadik Masood Malik, Secretary for Ministry of Water Resources Syed Ali Murtaza and other senior officials of relevant departments were also in attendance.