Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has approved the construction of 800 new mini dams in the Potohar region as part of a major plan to improve rainwater storage and strengthen water conservation across the province.
The project will be completed over the next three years and is expected to create a combined storage capacity of around 32,000 acre-feet of rainwater. The initiative is particularly important for Potohar, where agriculture depends heavily on rainfall and water availability can be challenging.
The decision was made during a meeting on agricultural transformation and water management, where officials briefed the chief minister on progress in conserving water and managing groundwater resources.
Officials informed the meeting that 110 mini dams have already been completed across Punjab under the provincial government’s water preservation programme. Photographic evidence of recently completed projects in Attock, Talagang, Gujar Khan and Rawalpindi was also presented.
Maryam Nawaz directed relevant departments to prepare a comprehensive plan for developing additional surface water bodies to capture and store rainwater. She also called for stronger legal measures to improve groundwater management and prevent unnecessary depletion of underground water resources.
The Punjab government will also deploy dedicated staff for water conservation and monitoring, while the agriculture, irrigation, housing and local government departments have been instructed to coordinate their efforts.
The meeting further reviewed measures to reduce water losses. Officials said a strategy had been prepared to cut losses during water conveyance and on-farm use across Punjab. The government is also expanding modern irrigation methods, including drip and sprinkler systems, to improve water efficiency.
Maryam Nawaz stressed that protecting every drop of water is essential for food security and sustainable agriculture. The new mini dams are expected to help farmers by improving local water availability while supporting the province’s long-term efforts to address water scarcity.
