The State Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) has installed as many as 251 new solar powered pumps in various districts in rural pockets of Chhattisgarh, officials stated.
The Department also installed a total of 8,950 new hand pumps during 2014-15 under the National Rural Drinking Water Mission in the rural pockets of the State.
There were a total of 10,373 tube wells dug up by the Department in the entire State out of which 8,950 wells were declared successful.
During the last financial year, 1,034 new hand pumps were established in rural schools and 1,881 in Anganwadis.
As many as 141 new tube wells were dug in the urban pockets of the State out of which 126 were declared successful during the last financial year.
Chhattisgarh ranks first in the country in terms of providing drinking water through solar powered pumps, they stated.
Out of the total number of solar pumps installed in the entire country in financial year 2013-14, nearly 90 per cent of the solar pumps were installed in Chhattisgarh itself, they claimed.
An amount of Rs65.28 crore has been spent on 6503 pure and safe drinking water schemes by the Public Health and Engineering Department (PHED) during the past six years in Bastar district.
About 6449 drinking water schemes have been already completed and people are getting safe and pure drinking water, officials stated.
The drinking water projects have been sanctioned during the fiscal 2009-10 and 2014-15. The projects include installation of 6372 hand-pumps, 91 spot source scheme, 39 Nal- Jal yojana and one water procurement project.
The Public Health Engineering Department spent Rs54.72 crore on installation of hand-pumps in Bastar district, Rs5.77 crore on Nal-Jal yojana, Rs3.80 crore on spot source scheme and Rs1 crore on water procurement project.
Notably, Chief Minister Raman Singh has said that the State government has set a target of providing two lakh domestic tap water connections in the rural pockets of Chhattisgarh during the next one year.
Moreover, in view of the summer season, the Chief Minister directed all the district collectors and officials of Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) to pay special attention to provision of drinking water in all public places in the State.
He said that during the last financial year ( 2014-15), a total of 94,400 domestic tap water connections were provided in the villages through 2,400 ‘Nal-Jal’ schemes.
The CM said that with the new financial year beginning April 1, a budget provision of Rs862 crore had been made for ensuring better drinking water facilities in the State.
He said that a provision of Rs5 crore had been made for implementing community water supply schemes in a total of 19 rural pockets of the State.
During the new financial year, a total of 22 cities have been included in the water supply schemes with a budget provision of Rs28 crore.
Singh stated that during the last financial year, new hand pumps were installed in 2232 rural settlements and 734 schools.
The State Government has reserved around 10 lakh litres of diesel and petrol in the petrol pumps of Bastar division to maintain operation of drinking water pumps during summer months, officials stated.
The State Government has announced it would establish an additional 1140 solar photo voltaic (SPV) pumps across Chhattisgarh to further augment water supply systems.
The Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA) had recently floated a tender for supply of the SPV equipment.
CREDA under its ‘Hot Water Supply Scheme’ has established a plant in insurgency infested Kanker district of insurgency infested Bastar region to supply 10,100 litres of hot water per day to the various government and private establishments.
Besides, the agency has also installed a plant to supply 7000 litres of hot water per day in Jungle Warfare Training Centre in the district.
A total of 30 solar-powered equipment had also been installed in the primary health centers in addition to solar power plants in Koyalibada, Civil Hospital, Pankhajur and at Prime Health Centre, Amabeda.