Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Bram Shanker Jimpa on Friday visited Nagda — a multi-village water supply scheme based on river water in Madhya Pardesh. The scheme is supplying potable water to 22 villages.
The purpose of the visit was to gain knowledge about the financial and technical sustainability of mega projects in Punjab so that clean and safe water can be supplied to the villages of Punjab, affected by water quality.
Jimpa was apprised that water is collected by constructing a dam on the Chambal river at Nagda in Madhya Pradesh. After purification and disinfection, potable water is supplied to the tanks of 22 villages. The concerned Gram Panchayats and Water and Sanitation Committees collect a monthly bill from consumers at the rate of Rs 80 per month per household. Every house in all 22 villages is getting water through this scheme.
The project’s special feature is that the committees of all 22 villages have saved about Ra 8,000 to Rs 10,000 per month after incurring all expenses. During the visit, Panches-Sarpanches and other stakeholders of different villages associated with this project shared their experiences with Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation Minister.
Jimpa was told that earlier, there was a lot of difficulty in collecting water bills, but due to the mutual cooperation and information, education, and communication activities of Madhya Pradesh Jal Nigam and the committees, this problem stands resolved. Now, all the villagers understand the importance of clean water and paying their bills on time every month.
After the visit, Jimpa instructed the Punjab delegation to implement good practices of the Nagda project in ongoing canal projects in Punjab too.