The Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR)
is the apex body of the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh for
development and management of the whole water resources of the country. It
formulates policies, plans, strategies, guidelines, instructions and acts,
rules, regulations, etc. relating to the development and management of water
resources, and regulation and control of the institutions reporting to it.
The Ministry of Water Resources
prepares and implements development projects relating to flood control and
drainage (FCD); flood control, drainage and irrigation (FCDI); riverbank
erosion control; delta development and land reclamation; etc. and provides
irrigation, drainage, flood protection, bank erosion protection, land
reclamation facilities by constructing barrages, regulators, sluices, canals,
cross-dams, embankments and sea-dykes along the banks of the rivers and the
coast, etc.
The Ministry, through its implementing
arm -the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), implements the FCD/FCDI and
other development projects. It also collects, processes, stores and
disseminates hydrological and hydraulic data and information through BWDB. It
provides flood forecasting and warning information through Flood Forecasting
and Warning Center (FFWC) of BWDB. The Ministry prepared the Guidelines
for Participatory Water Management (GPWM) and that is being widely followed by
the stakeholders at all levels.
The Ministry through its
macro-planning arm –the Water Resources Planning Organization (WARPO) prepared
National Water Policy, the Coastal Zone Policy, National Water Resources
Database (NWRD), National Water Management Plan (NWMP) and Integrated Coastal
Resources Database (ICRD). Data can be collected from WARPO for
nominal charges.
The Ministry has also research and
coordinating institutions such as River Research Institute (RRI)
responsible for physical and mathematical water modeling; Bangladesh Haor and
Wetland Development Board (BHWDB) for the development of Haors and
wetlands; Institute of Water Modeling for mathematical water modeling; and
Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) for
integrated environmental analysis using GIS, remote sensing (RS), database
and IT. The Joint Rivers Commission, Bangladesh acts as the
secretariat of the Ministry for dealing with the sharing and management of the
waters of the trans-boundary Rivers.
Other principal activities of the
Ministry include expansion of irrigated areas, water conservation, surface and
groundwater use, estuary control, anti-salinity measures and
anti-desertification activities, re-excavation of canals and rehabilitation of embankments,
international cooperation, liaison with the international organizations,
processing matters relating to treaties and agreements with other countries and
world bodies in the field of water development and management. According to
the National Water Policy, 1999 the Ministry is responsible for
formulation of a framework for institutional reforms to guide all water sector
related activities and will:
- Exercise water allocation power in identified scarcity zones on the basis of specified priorities and determine the priority for allocating water during critical periods;
- Sustain shallow groundwater aquifers, regulating the extraction of water in identified scarcity zones with full public knowledge;
- Prepare specific drought monitoring and contingency plans for each region experiencing recurrent seasonal shortage of water etc;
- Empower local government or any other body, to allocate water in scarcity zones during periods of severe drought, monitor the water regimes and enforce the regulations etc;
- Confer water rights on private and community bodies to provide secure, defensible and enforceable rights to ground/surface water etc;
- Ensure the minimum requirement of stream-flows for maintaining the conveyance of the channel.
Achievements:
The task of operation and maintenance
of completed projects is vested with the Ministry. Operation and maintenance
program of these completed projects is an ongoing activity.
- An O & M program of these projects and other ancillary work of Tk 2810.00 million is being undertaken in the current fiscal year 2007-2008.
- Under the current Annual Development Program (ADP) (Revised) 2007-08, the Ministry has been implementing 72 investment (including 2 study projects) and 3 technical assistance projects with a development budget of Tk 9379.40 million. Among the total 75 projects, 70 projects (including 2 TA projects) are being implemented by the Bangladesh Water Development Board. Other 5 projects are being implemented by WARPO (2 projects), Bangladesh Haor and Wet-Land Development Board (1 project) and River Research Institute (2 study projects).
The Ministry of Water Resources is a
development ministry. The Ministry has 3 wings namely:
- Development Wing responsible for preparation, implementation and monitoring of the aided projects;
- Planning Wing responsible for processing of all projects for approval by the Planning Commission and preparation, implementation and monitoring of projects solely funded by GoB, and release of all funds of the development projects under ADP.
- Administrative Wing responsible for the administration of the Ministry and the organizations reporting to it.
Mandates of the Ministry of Water
Resources:
- Regulation and development of rivers and river valleys.
- General policy and technical assistance in the field of irrigation, flood control, anti-water-logging, drainage and anti-erosions.
- All matters relating to irrigation, flood forecasting and warring, flood control, flood control works, causes off floods and damage caused by floods to irrigation projects, embankments, etc.
- Basic, fundamental and applied research on river valley projects and flood control works.
- International cooperation in the field of flood control and development of water resources.
- International commissions and conferences relating to irrigation, flood control and water resources management.
- Construction and maintenance of canals under W. D. B. Project; construction and maintenance of water control structures for the canals executed under the Canal Digging programme.
- Soil conservation drainage and water-logging.
- Storage of water and construction of reservoirs, embankment and barrages.
- Land reclamation, estuary control.
- Anti-salinity measures and anti-desertification.
- Hydrological survey and data collection.
- Matters relating to Joint Rivers Commission; Joint Committee, Standing Committee, etc and Common Border Rivers.
- Secretariat administration including financial matters.
- Administration and control of Subordinate office organization under this Ministry.
- Liaison with International Organization and matters relating to treaties and agreements with other countries and world bodies relating to subjects allotted to this Ministry.
- All laws on subject to this Ministry.
- Inquiries and statistics on any of the subject allotted to this Ministry.
- Fees in respect of any of the subjects allotted to this Ministry except fees taken in courts.
Source: MoWR BD.
For further details please visit the website.
Thanks,
Related Posts:
AFD BD - Armed Forces Division of Bangladesh
The National Web Portal of Bangladesh
Computer and IT Associations and Organizations in Bangladesh
Some important Website of Bangladesh Government
E Service - The National InfoKosh of Bangladesh
District Portals for all Districts of Bangladesh
About BEPZA - Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority
Ministry of Industries, Bangladesh
Disaster Management Bureau - Bangladesh
Ministry of Environment and Forests
Computer and IT Associations and Organizations in Bangladesh
Some important Website of Bangladesh Government
E Service - The National InfoKosh of Bangladesh
District Portals for all Districts of Bangladesh
About BEPZA - Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority
Ministry of Industries, Bangladesh
Disaster Management Bureau - Bangladesh
Ministry of Environment and Forests
No comments:
Post a Comment