Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Thursday said that the hill state received the highest amount of Rs 221.28 crore as incentive fund out of total Rs 464.28 crore allocated to seven states of the country for best performance for physical and financial progress and better ability to utilize the funds under Jal Jeevan Mission.

The Chief Minister said this during a meeting with officers of Jal Shakti and Public Works Department in Mandi district.

He said that despite the situation of COVID-19 and lockdown, Himachal Pradesh was the first state in the country to spend the amount received in the four instalments and to achieve the target under Jal Jeevan Mission by the month of November 2020.

The Chief Minister said that Jal Jeevan Mission is a universal water supply scheme, under which the government has worked systematically to provide pure drinking water through pipes in all the villages of the state.

As a result of which water connection has been provided to more than 13 lakh households in the state.

He said that three districts, 11 blocks, 825 panchayats and 8,346 villages of the state were brought under Har Ghar Jal Yojna. Drinking water has been made available to all schools and Anganwaris in the state under this scheme, he added.

Thakur expressed happiness that Himachal Pradesh would achieve the target of cent-percent piped water connection under Jal Jeevan Mission by July, 2022, against the target set by the Government of India of achieving piped water connection by 2024.

He said that the State Government is working not only to provide water to every household but also emphasising on schemes such as water conservation and storage under the Jal Jeevan Mission so that the water level of the land could be recharged due to continuous overuse.

The Chief Minister also thanked the Prime Minister and the Union Jal Shakti Minister for providing an incentive amount of Rs 221.28 crore to the state.