The government has proposed an allocation of Tk11,194 crore for the
Ministry of Water Resources in the
budget for FY2024-25.
Finance Minister AH Mahmood Ali proposed the allocation while unveiling the budget in the Parliament on Thursday.
The fresh allocation is Tk3,410 crore lower than the revised budget of Taka 14,604 crore in the previous fiscal year 2023-24.
"Proper and well-thought-out management of water resources is of immense importance for the development of agriculture in this riverine country as well as for the protection of the environment," the minister said, UNB reports.
To ensure efficient and sustainable management of water resources, he said 92 projects have been implemented in the last three years out of 182 development projects undertaken with the aim of controlling floods, preventing river erosion, dredging of rivers, improving irrigation management, eliminating waterlogging and land restoration.
"Through the implemented projects, 247 km river bank has been protected, 210 km dam has been constructed, 2,369 km embankments have been reshaped, 263 and 233 hydrological structures have been constructed and restructured respectively, 265 km irrigation canals and 1,019 km drainage canals have been re-excavated, and 1,148 km river dredging and re-excavation work have been completed," Ali said.
He also said steps are being taken to improve the system of collecting and analysing rainfall and transnational water flow data through the use of artificial intelligence, machine learning, internet of things and big data.
The minister said the 'Buriganga River Restoration' project has been implemented to continue the flow of clean water in the rivers flowing around Dhaka city. Following the implementation of the project, the water flow of Buriganga, Turag, Balu, Pungli and Dhaleshwari rivers has increased.
Besides, he said with the aim of solving waterlogging problems in the northern part of Dhaka city, two pump stations were constructed.
Ali said a total of 154 projects worth Tk 28,043 crore have been identified for implementation of the Haor Master Plan adopted for the development of haor areas and 40 agencies of different ministries/divisions are already implementing 110 projects.
SA
