JAMMU, Feb. 11 -- Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday told the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly that the government plans to utilise the current abeyance of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) to implement long-pending water infrastructure projects to secure Jammu's future water needs, while also announcing major electrification works and clarifying that unmetered consumers are being billed as per approved flat-rate tariffs.

Replying to members during Question Hour, Abdullah said reviving tubewells and traditional water sources could only serve as short-term measures and would not meet the region's requirements in the coming decades.

"Such measures are like putting a bandage on a wound," he said, stressing that planning must take in...