New Delhi: Union Water Resources Minister Arjun Charan Sethi on October 21 said a political consensus was necessary on the proposed river inter-linking project before it could be given a final shape.

"There is an urgent need to arrive at an across the board political consensus on the river inter-linking project before it could be given a final shape," Sethi said while inaugurating the 'Water Summit 2003', organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

"Our objective should be to conserve each and every drop of water, preserve its quality and use it without any wastage," he said.

The objective of water conservation could be achieved if all the sectors like irrigation, domestic and industry adopt an efficient system, he said.

He also emphasised on adopting modern conservation methods like water auditing in respect of use for industries, hotels and housing societies to arrive at a most reasonable demand projection.

"We are also required to adopt tools such as benchmarking for introspection, performance evaluation and improvement in efficiency of the system," he added.

PTI