Madhya Pradesh Public Health Engineering Minister Gourishankar Chaturbhuj Bisen, who has grabbed headlines for his sweeping comments, fired another salvo on Sunday.
Speaking at a programme in Balaghat, the minister said, "If the people can spend Rs50- 100 everyday on booze, why they cannot spend the same amount per month on waterIJ"
He further added that safe drinking water to be supplied in every home of every village would not come for free as people will be required to pay for it.
The minister was in the district to inaugurate a fair-price shop at lalburra block which comes under his home constituency at Balaghat. He informed people that the work is steadily progressing on the drinking water scheme for 102 villages in block at the cost of Rs132 crore. "With completion of the scheme, every village of lalburra block will have water connection," he said.
Bisen further said that out of 313 blocks in Madhya Pradesh, lalburra is at the top in terms of development. "Whether it is about roads, education or irrigation, the block is ahead in all counts in the state. Development is an ongoing process. The pace of development at lalburra will be further accelerated," he said.
He announced on the occasion that from May, every household will be supplied uninterrupted electricity for 24 hours. The State Government has transformed a dream into reality for the people, he said.Bisen also informed the audience that in interest of the farmers, the State Government has started the facility of filing their electricity bills in two installments. Besides, the surcharge on the old electricity bills has also been revoked. "Due to efforts of the State Government, agriculture has become a profitable enterprise in Madhya Pradesh. This is the only State in country where farmers are given zero-interest loans by the Government. The State is ranked top in terms of agricultural growth. Recent data shows that it is ahead in economic growth rate as well," he said.