Climate minister calls for scaling up groundwater recharge in Islamabad

Mettis Global reported that the government wants groundwater recharge stepped up in Islamabad, where the water table is dropping far faster than recharge can offset. Recharge has risen only 0.4 millimetres while the decline is around 1.5 metres. Federal Minister for Climate Change Dr Musadik Masood Malik made the call at an event on protecting the capital's aquifers at the USEFP Auditorium, describing close to 200 pilot recharge wells as an important achievement but not a full solution.

He wants the scheme expanded considerably so depletion slows and the downward trend is eventually halted. Heavy rain of around 200 millimetres flooded several areas, and relevant bodies were told to respond, while he urged better management of surface and groundwater. On quality, treatment plants serving Rawalpindi and Islamabad are, he said, helping lower contamination, though an extra plant has stalled for years despite repeated tenders. He said such delays are not unique to the Capital Development Authority, and tendering is now under way.

He also endorsed legislation to push recharge in newly built housing projects, rooftops among them. The ministry has created a Clean Environment Fund intended to draw private-sector participation and due diligence support into environmental initiatives. He further stressed that treaties and legal mechanisms are central to water security, saying Pakistan will keep protecting its water interests under a rules-based international order.