WD News: The 1st All India Annual State Ministers’ Conference on Water began in Bhopal today with a special e-Address by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narender Modi. The states will deliberate on the theme “Water Vision @ 2047” during the conference (5-6 January 2023) as part of India @ 2047 vision plan.
The event is organised by National Water Mission, Ministry of Jal Shakti at the Kushabhau Thakre Hall in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
The conference had one plenary and two thematic sessions (on water security and water use efficiency) on day-one that received a tremendous response from all participants. An exhibition is also organised in the sprawling lawns of the venue in which around 14 start-ups, innovative products/services and new projects are being showcased.
The inaugural session of conference began with a grand felicitation of Chief Guest and dignitaries – Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Hon’ble Minister of Jal Shakti, GoI; Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, Hon’ble Minister of State for Jal Shakti, GoI; Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh; Shri Tulsi Ram Silawat, Hon’ble Minister, Water Resources Department (WRD), Madhya Pradesh; Shri Pankaj Kumar, Secretary, DoWR, RD & GR, Ministry of Jal Shakti, GoI; Ms. Vini Mahajan, Secretary, Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, GoI. The dignitaries performed a traditional Jal Kalash ceremony.
Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India gave a special message through e-Address and set the stage for this mega conference. The prime minister highlighted ‘Water Vision 2047’ as a significant dimension in achieving India’s vision for 2047 for the holistic governance, and making our nation water secure. He said that water should be a subject of cooperation and coordination between the states. And the states and central governments and their respective departments should act as one entity with clarity and common vision on water security.
Shri Pankaj Kumar, Secretary, DoWR, RD & GR, Ministry of Jal Shakti, GoI made the welcome address to formally begin the conference proceedings.
Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Hon’ble Minister of Jal Shakti, GoI urged all the states in his keynote address to regularly meet and discuss their challenges, opportunities, project experiences, best practices and learnings with each other on various platforms of Water Vision @ 2047.
The inaugural address was given by Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. He praised the vision of Prime Minister which made it possible to bring focus on water resources.
The dignitaries e-Launched the “National Framework on Reuse of Treated Waste Water”, and “National Framework for Sedimentation Management” – both with a short film. There was an e-launch of “Best Practices under JSA:CTR” and the inauguration of sub-portal of ‘Jal Itihas’ under India WRIS Portal (as part of AKAM) as well.
The vote of thanks for inaugural ceremony was given by Ms. Vini Mahajan, Secretary, Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, GoI.
The Plenary Session began with the address by Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, Hon’ble Minister of State, Ministry of Jal Shakti and Food Processing Industries, GoI. Ms. Debashree Mukherjee, Special Secretary, DoWR, RD & GR, Ministry of Jal Shakti, GoI set the agenda of the conference on Water Vision @ 2047. This was followed by presentations by state representatives Shri Kunvarjibhai Bavaliya, Hon’ble Water Resources Minister – Gujarat; Dr. Manas Ranjan Bhunia, Hon’ble Minister in Charge Water Resources – West Bengal; Shri Swatantra Dev Singh, Hon’ble Jal Shakti Minister – Uttar Pradesh; Shri Pijush Hazarika, Hon’ble Water Resources Minister – Assam; Shri Satpal Maharaj, Hon’ble Irrigation, MI, PWD Minister – Uttarakhand; Smt. Kehsni Anand Arora, Chairperson, HWRA, Haryana. Shri Jayant Malla Baruah, Hon’ble PHED Minister – Assam was also present during the session.
Short films of various states of India were run on day one – showcasing their initiatives and inspiring stories on water conservation, water supply and reuse that enthralled the audience.
Thematic Session-1 was focused on “Water Security in Water Deficit, Water Surplus and Hilly Regions”. Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, Hon’ble Minister of State, Ministry of Jal Shakti and Food Processing Industries, GoI was the Session Chair. Session co-chair were Shri Mithilesh Kumar Thakur, Drinking Water & Sanitation Minister, Jharkhand and Shri Awangbow Newmai, Water Resources Minister, Manipur. Presentations were made by Shri Vikas Sheel, Additional Secretary & Mission Director, Jal Jeevan Mission, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, GoI; Shri Kunvarjibhai Bavaliya, Water Resources Minister, Gujarat; Shri Brajendra Singh Yadav, Public Health Engineering Minister, MP; Subhash A. Shirodkar, Hon’ble Minister, Water Resources – Goa; and Shri Amit Kataria, Joint Secretary, Department of Rural Development, GoI. Shri Tulsi Ram Silawat, Minister, Water Resources, Madhya Pradesh; Shri Satpal Maharaj, Irrigation, MI, PWD Minister, Uttarakhand; Shri Pijush Hazarika, Water Resources Minister, Assam; and Shri Jayanta Mallabaruah, PHED Minister, Assam were also present.
Thematic Session-2 was focused on “Water Use Efficiency including Reuse of Waste Water/ Grey Water”. The session was chaired by Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Hon’ble Minister of Jal Shakti. Presentations were made by Shri Ambati Rambadu, Hon’ble Irrigation Minister – Andhra Pradesh; Shri Ashok S. Goel, Commissioner (SPR), DoWR, RD & GR, Ministry of Jal Shakti, GoI; Shri Tulsi Ram Silawat, Minister, Water Resources, Madhya Pradesh; Shri Shravan Kumar, Hon’ble Minister, Rural Development, Bihar; Shri Sanjay Aggarwal, Secretary, WRD, Bihar; Ms. Maninder Kaur Dwivedi, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, GoI; and Shri Gurjeet Singh Dhillon, Director, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs.
The first-day sessions concluded with an Open House Discussion, followed by a cultural program in the evening.
