The new Water Resources minister Mr. Harish Rawat today assumed charge of his ministry in New Delhi. Later, talking to the media, Mr. Rawat stressed on coordination between the Centre and states to address water-related issues. He said his ministry will undertake mapping of ground water resources and streams to prevent their misuse and exploitation. Mr. Rawat said efforts would be stepped up to conserve scarce and increasingly depleting water resources. Mr. Rawat said there is a need to develop a mechanism to resolve water disputes between states in a time-bound manner.

New Minister of state for Agriculture Tariq Anwar also took charge of his ministry.