Punjab Government has resolved to provide water connections and toilets to every rural household in the next six years, with the World Bank sanctioning a loan of Rs1,540 crore for water and sanitation facilities in the State.
The World Bank has recently approved Rs1,540 crore loan for ‘Punjab Rural Water and Sanitation Sector Improvement Project’ to help the State in improving its water and sanitation services and also reduce open defecation in rural Punjab.
The project, costing the state government Rs2,200 crore, would include water supply for minimum 10 hours daily, a toilet for households that lack such the facility and sewerage systems in over 315 villages.
Over 6,25,000 households in the state still do not have toilets. The sanitation component would provide subsidy to every toilet-less household to construct a toilet. It would also provide information, education, and communication (IEC) to trigger the behavioural change necessary to achieve “Open Defecation Free” status at the village level.
The project also includes safe supply of surface water to over 121 villages that were drinking water contaminated with uranium and other heavy metals that lead to serious health issues like cancer.
Roughly 29 per cent of water supply schemes in the state face water quality issues. “As per the World Bank data, over four million women in Punjab would benefit from this project as they would have access to better quality water supply and sanitation facilities. The project would also reduce the time spent by women in collecting water, which they could now optimally utilise in other productive ways,” said the government spokesperson.
Despite high coverage of water (95 per cent) and sanitation (71.0 per cent) in Punjab, the rural water and sanitation sector still continues to face major challenges. This project is expected to directly benefit an estimated 8.47 million rural people in Punjab, including over four million female beneficiaries and 2.44 million beneficiaries belonging to the Scheduled Castes, he said.
After the sanction of Rs1,540 crore loan by the World Bank, the State Government would invest Rs660 crore in the Rs2,200 crore project.