To facilitate safe drinking water supply in rural areas, Anicut-based group water supply schemes will be started soon in Chhattisgarh, Chief Minister Raman Singh revealed on Thursday while at his meeting with Pankaj Jain, Secretary of Union Ministry of Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation Programme here.
Singh said that he had instructed the officials of Water Resources and Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) to chalk out phase-wise action plan for the purpose.
The Chief Minister said that in the first phase, a minimum of 1,000 villages should be earmarked and connected to the nearby Anicuts through pipelines to provide safe drinking water supply.
Singh informed the Union Secretary that during the past one decade, the State Government had constructed a large number of Anicuts on rivers and ponds of state, which has not only provided irrigation facility to the people of rural areas but has also resulted in increase of ground water level.
Singh said that these Anicuts provide sufficient water supply throughout the year and can also be utilized for supply of safe drinking water to the public. Officials have been instructed to focus on this concept while chalking out their action plan, he informed.
The Union Secretary Jain told Chief Minister that Chhattisgarh has attained first position in the entire country for installation of solar energy pumps under Central Government's scheme. The State had the target of installing 922 solar pumps in the districts with integrated action plan in Naxal-affected districts.
The PHED has successfully achieved the target by installing all 922 dual solar pumps across the State, in association with CREDA, and has secured the first position in the country in doing so, he said.
Dual solar pumps are special pumps which can be operated by electricity as well as manually, as per the requirement, Singh said.
The Union Secretary told Chief Minister that Solar Pump Installation Scheme is the flagship scheme of Centre. While many other states are yet to begin with the work under this scheme, Chhattisgarh has already achieved the target and secured its first rank.
To this, Singh told the Union Secretary that if Central Government approves additional funds to the State, more number of solar pumps can be installed.
Jain assured of conveying the request to Central Government, after he returns to New Delhi.
In the meeting, Jain also told the Chief Minister about his experiences during his Chhattisgarh visit.
He said that on the previous day, he visited three villages of Bemetara district, where he observed the commendable work done by State Government's Public Health Engineering Department under National Rural Drinking Water Programme and Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan.
During the meeting, Jain and Chief Minister deliberated upon the new proposals of public schemes for drinking water supply in Chhattisgarh and also on the under consideration Centre's proposals.
Chief Minister told Jain that that the establishment of water purification plant has solved the problem of
salt water supply in village Doonda (Bemetara block) by enabling the supply of safe drinking water. In village Kharra also, ponds are full to its capacity, he added.
Union Secretary also mentioned about the pucca toilets constructed in houses of these villages under Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan.
Jain praised the underground water supply system in village Kayabandha, which he had noticed during his visit to Naya Raipur, and the solar-pump based drinking water supply system in Government Primary School of village Kotni of Aarang block. On the occasion, Chief Secretary Vivek Dhand, Principal Secretary, Housing and Environment Department N Baijendra Kumar, Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department Secretary Ganesh Shankar Mishra and other officers were also present.