Chandigarh, June 15

To prepare a comprehensive master plan for the conservation and management of water resources to tackle declining ground water in Punjab, Water Resources Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria on Saturday met a three-member team of experts from Israel in Amritsar.

The experts team along with senior officers of the Water Resources Department had earlier visited various parts of the state to assess the present situation and the challenges being faced by the state in dealing with the water sector.

During their three-day visit, the team of experts got an overview of the existing water resources and infrastructure in the state.

The experts team of International Special Projects Coordinator of Mekorot Diego Berger, Project Manager Niv Pintow, Water Engineer of Mekorot for North district Tomer Malol discussed ways and means with the minister to deal with the grave problem of deteriorating water resources in the state.

The team apprised Sarkaria that they will submit six reports—'Study in current situation of water sector', 'Water based economy regulations', 'Projections of the water resources', 'Projection of water demand', 'Alternative water supply schemes', 'Economic analysis and master plan summary and recommendations' for Punjab.

The national water company of Israel, Mekorot, and the Punjab government had signed an agreement in April after the visit of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to Israel in October 2018.

As per the agreement, the recommendations of Mekorot would be submitted in 18 months.

The final report of the master plan is expected in October 2020, a spokesperson for the state government told IANS. — IANS