The Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Water Resources also endorsed a recommendation to seek more budgetary allocation for harnessing water resources as the sector holds immense potential.

Emerging from the meeting at the Sangsad Bhaban, Water Resources Minister Hafiz Uddin Ahmad said he apprised the committee of the outcome of last month's Indo-Bangla Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) meeting in New Delhi where India assured Bangladesh of discussion on the $200 billion project on receipt of a taskforce report on the plan.

But if India went ahead with implementation of the project, Hafiz feared it would be disastrous for Bangladesh, which depends largely on cross-boundary rivers including the Ganges and Brahmaputra for dry season water.

MA Matin, chairman of the parliamentary body and a BNP lawmaker, chaired the first meeting of committee held three months after its constitution.

After the formation of the committee by the Jatiya Sangsad in mid-July, its chairman was changed once and its previous chairman Ebadur Rahman Chowdhury passed his brief stint without holding a single meeting.

On the comment of Indian river-link taskforce chief Suresh Prabhu that the mega plan would be beneficial for Bangladesh, Hafiz said: "We understand our benefits better. We don't need it to know from India what is beneficial to us."

The parliamentary committee also discussed implementation of the second phase of the Teesta Barrage, which is likely to raise food production by 2.77 lakh tonnes.

Sources said the barrage project was now awaiting approval of the Executive Committee on National Economic Council and would take three years for implementation.

Committee chief Matin told reporters that the meeting was briefed on the progress in implementation of five new and 60 ongoing projects of the ministry under the Annual Development Plan (ADP) in the fiscal 2003-04.

Officials concerned also briefed the meeting about the activities of the Water Resources Planning Organisation, River Research Institute, Joint Rivers Commission, Bangladesh Haor and Wetland Development Board, Institute of Water Modeling, and Centre for Environmental and Geographical Information Service.

The committee attached importance to proper utilisation of water resources and sought more budgetary allocation so that the ministry could effectively tackle the problems of salinity, water-logging, irrigation hazards, drought and flooding triggered by torrential rains.

The meeting also stressed immediate filling of vacant posts under the ministry.

Committee members Harunar Rashid, KM Anwarul Islam, Kazi Rafiqul Islam, M Naser Rahman and Md Motiur Rahman Talukdar were present.

State Minister for Water Resources Goutam Chakravarthy attended the meeting on special invitation.