category Regional, chandigarh, , tags Regional, chandigarh, , DW BUREAU CHANDIGARH Dr. Inderbir Singh Nijjar, Cabinet Minister Soil and Water Conservation, has launched the Revised Standard Operating Procedures of the Department of Soil and Water Conservation in Punjab. The new work procedures have been revised after more than 50 years, and will replace the earlier procedures formulated during the 1960s when the departmental works were minor in nature and mainly limited to soil conservation works only. Divulging in this regards, Cabinet Minister, Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar stated that the nature and magnitude of the departmental works have changed significantly. Water resource conservation and management assumed importance especially after the late 1980s due to fast depletion of ground water and limited surface water availability. Therefore, the revised work procedures lay emphasis on works like rainwater harvesting, underground pipelines, drip sprinkler irrigation, and the use of treated water, which have become the prime focus of the department. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Nijjar informed that the Government is committed to bringing greater efficiency and transparency in public works. Therefore, all such rules and procedures that have become obsolete and act as a hurdle rather than facilitating the common man are being rewritten across departments. The release of these revised SOPs is a step in that direction. Mohinder Singh Saini, Chief Conservator of Soils, Punjab, who was present along with other officers of the department, informed that these revised work procedures of the department lay down duties and responsibilities of officers officials besides the methodology of execution of works along with monitoring and evaluation. (editor dailyworld.in)