With reports of drinking water shortage in some areas of Haryana, State Public Health Engineering Minister Ghanshyam Saraf on Friday directed the officers to arrange adequate drinking water supply in all villages and towns of the State.
If any protest is held or road is blocked due to water problems in any village or town, the officers and officials of the area concerned would be held responsible, warned the Minister.
As per the reports, the availability and demand of potable water in Haryana show water shortage in nine districts including Sonipat, Jind, Sirsa, Hisar, Bhiwani, Rohtak, Jhajjar, Mahendragarh and Rewari districts.
In a statement issued here, Saraf said that people block roads and organise protests due to inadequate drinking water supply during summer, which causes inconvenience to all sections of the society.
He said that apart from this, it has also been seen at many places that water is wasted due to leakage in private and public taps. He also directed the officers to take concrete steps to avoid wastage of water.
All Superintending Engineers, Executive Engineers, Sub Divisional Engineers and Junior Engineers have been directed to ensure adequate supply of water in their areas concerned, he added.
The State Government is already framing a law to take strict action against wastage of water and planning to bring it during the next State Assembly session. As per the proposal, water wastage is likely to invite atleast three months imprisonment and a penalty of Rs 2000 in the state.
Meanwhile, Kiran Choudhry, leader of the Haryana Congress legislature Party, has blamed the acute shortage of water, both for drinking and irrigation purposes, on the BJP Government, led by Manohar lal Khattar.
She claimed that while the overall demand in Haryana for water is 2,111.37 million litres per day (MlD), including 1,081.66 MlD from the urban side, the authorities have been able to ensure availability of only 1,913.22 MlD, including 968.86 MlD in the urban areas and the remaining 944.36 MlD in the rural areas.