The Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD & GR), Ministry of Jal Shakti, will convene the All-India Conference of Senior Most Secretaries of Water Resources Departments of States and Union Territories on 13 July 2026 at Chanakya Hall, Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, New Delhi.

Shri C R Patil, Union Minister of Jal Shakti, will chair the conference. Shri Raj Bhushan Choudhary, Minister of State in the Ministry of Jal Shakti, and Shri V.L. Kantha Rao, Secretary (DoWR, RD & GR), will co-chair it.

The conference aims to strengthen Centre-State coordination in the water resources sector and to review the progress of the Ministry's major national programmes. Senior officials from the Water Resources Departments of all States and Union Territories will take part, along with the Ministry's organisations and attached and subordinate offices such as the Central Water Commission (CWC), the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) and the National Water Mission (NWM).

Deliberations will focus on eight priority agenda items: the status of the Modernisation of Command Area Development and Water Management (M-CADWM) Scheme; a Special One-Month Nationwide #CatchTheRain Campaign to strengthen people's participation in water conservation; Revised Draft Project Appraisal Guidelines for irrigation, multipurpose and flood management projects; Rule Curves of dam reservoirs and their effective implementation for improved reservoir operations and dam safety; the status of the State Water Reforms Framework (SWRF); completion of the Comprehensive Dam Safety Evaluation (CDSE) under the Dam Safety Act, 2021 by December 2026; the progress of Irrigation Censuses in States and Union Territories; and a Framework for Model State Water Awards.

The conference will also give States and UTs a platform to share experiences, flag implementation challenges and evolve coordinated strategies to accelerate water-sector reforms — part of the Ministry's continued push for sustainable water resources management.