Punjab Cabinet, led by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, on Wednesday approved the restructuring of the Water Resources Department in order to bring more efficiency into its functioning.

The decision was taken while giving a go-ahead to the appointments on 70 posts in the Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority (PWRDA) on contract/deputation basis.

The restructuring of the department will involve cutting down of sanctioned strength of 24,263 employees to 15,606. Incidentally, only 17,499 of the sanctioned posts are filled at present.

According to the official spokesperson, the entire restructuring plan would result in saving Rs 71 crores per annum. It would help in achieving optimal utilisation of staff through placement as per ground level needs. The move will also make the offices paperless, move the services online and digitalisation of old records, and creating Management Information System (MIS) for efficient working and planning.

The proposed Central Planning and Design Organisation (CPDO) will assist the in-house design purposes and provide external consultancy to other departments and organisations and the State Dam Safety Organisation (SDSO). It is mandatory as per the guidelines of CWC for the rehabilitation of Dams.

Apart from this, the restructuring would also ensure better handling of increased litigation and arbitration matters and professionalising the documentation of such cases and protocols, as well as redistribution of works amongst the refurbished administrations in an optimal manner.

To efficiently utilise official machinery, the Department of Mines and Geology has already been merged with Water Resources Department as both these departments have largely the same geographical jurisdiction -- rivers and dams.