Press Release Title: Senator Shahadat Awan, Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Water Resources presiding over a meeting of the committee at Parliament House, Islamabad.

Press Release Date: 24th November, 2025

The Senate Standing Committee on Water Resources met today at the Parliament House to review compliance of the recommendations made in earlier meeting held on 30th July, 2025, and to discuss the issues related to flood water management, water conservation, building of small and medium dams for water conservation and recharge of ground water and rain water harvesting in the context of recent devastating floods in the country. The Standing Committee aimed at  developing sustainable solution to mitigate the losses from flood in future and strategies to address depleting groundwater resources. The meeting was convened by Senator Shahadat Awan and attended by Senator Saeed Ahmed Hashmi and Senator Poonjo Bheel. The Chair highlighted the lack of coordination among the stakeholders on the issue of encroachments and directed the Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, to ensure effective coordination among the relevant federal and provincial authorities. The Committee took notice of the SUPARCO’s non-compliance regarding the verification report on the removal of encroachments. The Chairman Committee, with the consent of  the members present in the meeting, directed that the matter of non compliance by SUPARCO ought to be treated as breach of privilege of the Senate Standing Committee . Senator Poonjo Bheel further emphasized upon the issue of encroachments in riverine areas and their severe consequences during floods. The Chair directed that the required report, confirming the removal of all encroachments, must be submitted in the next meeting. The Chair further directed the Secretary ministry of Water Resources to ensure the presence of all relevant department heads in the next meeting, along with the attendees of the previous meeting, to avoid disruptions and to fix responsibility for any negligence. Regarding the Nai Gaj project, the Secretary informed the Committee that the matter is currently subjudice in the Supreme Court. The issue was deferred until the next meeting, with directions to ensure the presence of the Minister for Water Resources. The Committee also reviewed the earlier phases of the National Flood Protection Plan (NFPP). Discussion on NFPP-IV was deferred due to its pending approval from the Council of Common Interests (CCI). WAPDA briefed the Standing Committee on ongoing water storage projects and future plans. The Committee also reviewed the installation of the telemetry system for oversight of the water-flow and early flood warnings. The representative of WAPDA expressed satisfaction with the progress on the installation of 45 flood telemetry gauges. The Chairman Committee further directed that the installation of an additional 457 telemetry systems, be expedited to strengthen early warning capabilities.   The Committee was also briefed by provincial representatives on small and medium dams projects. Regarding rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge, the Chair directed the representatives from provinces to present future plans in the next meeting.  The Chair emphasized that groundwater recharge and rainwater harvesting are critical matters for Pakistan and its people, hence would be further discussed in the next meeting.