The mandate of the newly-formed Jal Shakti Ministry will go much beyond bringing previous ministries of water resources and drinking water and sanitation under one umbrella. It will attempt to integrate demand side and supply side of water in the country so that the issues relating to water are dealt with in a holistic manner, a top government official said on Monday.

The Narendra Modi government has appointed Gajendra Singh Shekhawat as the Minister of Jal Shakti. The new Ministry was constituted in line with the BJP’s Sankalp Patra that for the 2019 General Elections which promised to address water related issues in the country an integrated manner.

“All the water related works will be merged under one ministry,” Shekhawat said after taking the charge on Friday last.

“There are several other Central ministries that deal with water in a piecemeal manner. For instance, the Ministry of Forest and Environment is entrusted with conservation of most rivers in the country. Similarly, urban water supply is looked after by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and micro-irrigation projects come under the Ministry of Agriculture,” the official said.

“Bringing all these together may take time some time. But doing this makes a lot of sense as water woes are a reality. We already have a Minister to begin with,” the official added.

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