ISLAMABAD, Sept 19: The federal government on Monday decided to constitute a National Water Council to implement and supervise the National Water Policy in consultation with the stakeholders, including the provincial governments.

Informed sources told Dawn that a meeting, presided over by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, rejected objections raised by the Planning Commission over the constitution of the council on the ground that it would result in duplication of efforts in the presence of a constitutional forum of the Council of Common Interests.

An official statement said the prime minister praised the ministry of water and power on the initiative on water policy to resolve the water-related issues, including conservation and management.

The meeting was informed about the continuous problems faced by the telemetry system and that the system would be handed over to Wapda by September 30 to remove faults in consultation with the contractor before transferring it to the Indus River System Authority on a permanent basis.

The prime minister said water was a national resource and, hence, a comprehensive national policy on water was required to cover all aspects besides creating awareness among the people on its intelligent and efficient use to ensure its conservation and optimum utilisation.

He said water security was essential to ensure future development of the country and modern techniques should be employed for management of water-related issues.