The Ministry of Jal Shakti is considering a policy framework that would require companies to do a water audit as the government is stepping up efforts to create sustainable water resources, reported Business Standard, citing a senior government official.

The newly-formed ministry is in the initial stages of discussing a policy framework for benchmarking water consumption in sectors such as cement, coal, steel, and power, added the report.

As part of the policy, the report said, the government will first ascertain the present level of consumption and then fix targets for each industry. This could also make industries accountable for the water usage as currently water is seen as a cheap resource when compared to energy, said the report.

The new program by the ministry could also bring more accountability as the current data regarding water is collected by state pollution control boards, but it is highly fragmented, the report added.