SHILLONG, NOV 20: Meghalaya government seems to be in no big hurry to implement the all important “Water Policy” in a state where many of its river bodies are contaminated. However Meghalaya deputy chief minister ( who holds the Water Resources department portfolio) Rowell Lyngdoh said the policy could not be implemented as the government is yet to take the views of different stakeholders on the policy.
Lyngdoh said the government has not taken the views of the MLAs since most MLAs in the assembly are new faces and the government wanted to take the new MLAs on board before coming out with the policy.
Besides the MLAs, the department is also yet to take the views of the three autonomous district councils and Lyngdoh informed that the government cannot go ahead with the policy without the views of the district councils as it would be unwise.
Lyngdoh said the proposed water policy would also regulate the use of even ground water since people in Shillong are now drilling water from the ground which is not a healthy trend.
After the policy, the government is hoping that it can regulate and prescribed legislations and that can save the water resources of the state and the policy will also hold provisions for quality control of water in the state.
It is worth mentioning that the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) last year had observed that twenty-eight out of the thirty-one water bodies in six districts of Meghalaya are highly contaminated and “unfit to drink”.- By Our Reporter
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