Staff Reporter :
The government plans to charge for using river, pond and mineral water for industrial and commercial purpose. The decision will be finalized after the discussion with stakeholders.
The decision was taken in Water Resources Planning Organisation’s (WARPO) 17th board meeting on Wednesday.
Ministry of Water Resources Public Relation Officer Md Gias Uddin said, there has been a discussion on whether a minimum price can be fixed for the use of groundwater through rivers or deep tube wells in industry and commerce. A decision in this regard may be taken after discussion with all concerned. If everyone agrees, an amount will be charged for industrial and commercial purpose.
Zaheed Farooque, Minister of State for Water and Resource said that there should be accurate information about how many tubewells there are in an area. Apart from that, measures should be taken by determining the number of tubewell required in which area.
He said in this case, all organizations must work together. Supplying water from large ponds to homes through water lines will reduce groundwater pressure. Violation of the law in installing deep tube wells will be punishable under the law.
In the meeting, it was informed about ensuring proper use of underground water. Due to the use of additional tubewells, the groundwater level is decreasing day by day, which is ominous for the future. The meeting decided to send a letter to the Deputy Commissioners (DC) for proper implementation of the law in the case of installation of existing deep tube wells.
In the press release of the Ministry of Water Resources, WARPO Director General and Board Member Secretary Md. Delwar Hossain highlighted the activities of the organization.
He said, formulation of ecologically balanced master plan for the development of water resources; National strategies and policies on science-based utilization and conservation; Providing advice to other organizations concerned in the development, use and conservation; Co-operation in conducting surveys of any organization engaged in development, use and conservation and conducting special surveys on any related matter if necessary; To assess and review matters arising from measures taken by any organization engaged in development, use and conservation and to advise on the same; Education, training and professional development related to the use of water resources; Apart from organizing and conducting international seminars, conferences and workshops with the approval of the government, the Water Resources Planning Agency performs other duties related to water resources given by the government.
