Chandigarh, Jan 3 : To bolster water conservation and management efforts, the Punjab Government on Wednesday inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a private company. The agreement, the first-of-its-kind in Punjab, was signed between the Department of Soil and Water Conservation and the Hoshiarpur-based paper company Kuantum Papers Ltd. It took place in the presence of Minister for Soil and Water Conservation, Chetan Singh Jauramajra here. The minister said this partnership with a private sector entity was the first-of-its-kind in the state. Jauramajra said the initiative would bolster the private sector's involvement in the state's water conservation for the first time. 'It will significantly boost the government's water conservation programs and lay the groundwork for future public-private collaborations,' said the minister. He outlined that under this MoU the company will provide funding for both new and ongoing projects related to water resource conservation and management through the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds or specifically allocated funds. The funding has been earmarked for the construction of check dams, implementation of efficient irrigation systems, utilisation of treated water, etc. The state is facing a precarious groundwater situation with almost 80 per cent of its area under the over-exploited category and if remedial steps are not taken, the day is not far when it will run out of this precious natural resource, say experts. /IANS