Desk Report:
The first meeting of the Standing Committee on the Ministry of Water Resources of the 13th National Parliament was held today, Thursday (13 August 2026) at the National Parliament Building. The Chairman of the Committee, Mohammad Shafiqul Haque Milon, MP, presided over the meeting.
An introductory session was held at the beginning of the meeting. Then, the commendable progress in the activities of the Ministry of Water Resources was highlighted in the evaluation of the activities of the government in the last six months. Various initiatives including taking advance preparations to prevent river erosion, tree plantation, etc. were discussed in the meeting.
It was informed in the meeting that the Padma Barrage Project has already been approved by ECNEC. In addition, the meeting was informed about the strong assurance received regarding the renewal of the Farakka Agreement. At the same time, it was informed in the meeting that the main work of the Teesta Master Plan will start from next year.
The overall activities of the Ministry of Water Resources were presented in the meeting through a presentation. Detailed information including the ongoing development activities of the ministry, project progress, implementation period and financial allocation was presented before the committee.
It was informed in the meeting that currently 93 development projects are ongoing under the Ministry of Water Resources. A total of Tk 7,832.80 crore has been allocated for these projects in the fiscal year 2026-2027. A detailed list of the duration, financial allocation and implementation of the projects was also presented in the meeting.
The meeting called for the completion of development projects within the stipulated time, ensuring proper and fair use of the allocated funds and playing a more effective role in improving the quality of government services for the people.
The meeting was attended by committee members and Minister of Water Resources Md. Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie, MP; State Minister of Water Resources Farhad Hossain Azad, MP; A. K. M. Fazlul Haque Milon, MP; A. E. Sultan Mahmud Babu, MP; Alamgir Muhammad Mahfuz Ullah Farid, MP; Munshi Rafiqul Alam, MP; Md. Izzat Ullah, MP; Md. Mashiur Rahman Khan, MP and Md. Oli Ullah, MP participated.
The meeting was attended by the Secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources, Directors General of various agencies under the ministry, senior officials, heads of agencies and concerned officials of the National Parliament Secretariat.
