The Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD & GR) of the Ministry of Jal Shakti convened a regional conference of state water secretaries in New Delhi to strengthen centre-state coordination. The meeting was chaired by V L Kantha Rao, Secretary of DoWR, RD & GR, and included senior state officials from Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, NCT Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal. The conference aimed to accelerate implementation of ongoing projects and schemes and to promote integrated planning.

The programme included a comprehensive review of department schemes and the work of its technical organisations such as the Central Water Commission (CWC) and Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and other specialised agencies. Discussions covered advisories on flood plain zoning, a national framework for sediment management and steps needed for implementation of provisions of the Dam Safety Act, 2021 in the participating states. The session examined groundwater regulation measures and initiatives under Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari two point zero.

Delegates emphasised transition to digital governance in water management, including adoption of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) based real-time monitoring and application programming interface (API) based data sharing for flood alerts. The conference considered expansion of the Flood Watch mobile application for field officials and encouraged use of API enabled interoperable platforms to support timely dissemination of warnings and operational data. Participants discussed use of geospatial tools and real-time instrumentation to enhance flood preparedness and response in vulnerable river basins.

State government delegations made presentations on the status of scheme implementation, flagged pending issues and set out expectations from the union government to resolve administrative and technical bottlenecks. The secretary reviewed state progress, assured support in resolving pending matters and called for strengthened cooperation to ensure effective execution of projects. The conference concluded with a call for a symbiotic Centre-state relationship to formulate integrated strategies for sustainable development and management of water resources, and the department reiterated its commitment to provide requisite assistance for project delivery.