The State Government has provided administrative approval of Rs1.99 crore for Nal-Jal scheme in five villages of Bastar district. The approvals had been provided National Rural Drinking Water Programme for fiscal year 2014-15. Engineer-in-Chief, Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department, has already issued orders in this context, officials stated.
This includes administrative approval of Rs29.30 lakh for village Palli of Jagdalpur block, Rs36.26 lakh for village Palva and Rs34.27 lakh for village Irpa of Tokapal block, Rs49.75 lakh for village Kodenal of Bastanar block and Rs49.71 lakh for village Nichnar of lohandiguda block.
Apart from Bastar region, the State Government had provided approval Under National Rural Drinking-water Programme, administrative approval of Rs1.32 crore for Nal-Jal scheme in three villages of insurgency infested Gariaband district.
This approval has been given as per State Government’s action plan for fiscal year 2014-15. PHED Engineer-in-Chief has issued orders in this context. As per the orders, Rs47.71 lakh has been approved for village Bhainsatara and Rs47.25 lakh has been approved for village Koma of Fingeshwar block, and Rs37.16 lakh has been sanctioned for village Muchbahal of Mainpur block.
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 Chief Minister 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.
Moreover, in December last year, while seriously considering the problem of water salinity in 98 villages of Bemetara district, Chief Minister Raman Singh has approved two projects worth Rs101.47 crores for supplying safe water in the villages. In September this year, the Chief Minister had approved Rs190 crore under the State Government’s ‘Nal-Jal Scheme’ for eliminating salinity in water supply being made to nearly 152 villages of Bemetara district from Shivnath River.
The PHED officials informed in a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister that the ‘Nal-Jal’ scheme is the biggest in the country formulated to solve the problem of salinity in water supply made to the villages. Moreover, the State Government’s Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) have established as many as 227 ‘fluoride prevention plants’ to ensure supply of safe drinking water in fluoride-affected regions of Chhattisgarh.
PHED officials informed here that the Government has established 26 district-level laboratories in the State for checking fluoride content in ground water sources. In three years, as many as 56,388 samples collected from groundwater resources across the State have been examined in these laboratories. Out of these, 328 samples were found high in fluoride content.
The Government spent more than Rs5.62 crore during 2012-13 for implementation of various schemes formulated for ensuring safe drinking water to the people living in fluoride affected areas. Chhattisgarh ranks first in the country in terms of providing drinking water through solar powered pumps, officials 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 only, they claimed. The Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency (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. This apart, a total of 30 solar powered equipment had also been installed in the primary health centers besides solar power plants had been established in Koyalibada, Civil Hospital, Pankhajur and at Prime Health Centre, Amabeda.
The solar powered equipment had helped during emergencies to operate the deep freezer and other key equipment in the health centers. CREDA has also established a 25 Kw solar energy equipment in the Keshkal valley on Jagdalpur road about 30 kms from the district headquarters which had helped street lights remaining illuminated in the 6 kms length of the valley while preventing accidents.
There are also about 13 villages in the interior parts of Kanker district which cannot receive power supply in the conventional mode which now have solar powered street lights installed in the villages. The installation of the solar powered equipment had benefitted nearly 4,000 families residing in the district. By installing over 1,100 solar pumps, pure and safe water supply has been made available to the inaccessible, non-electrified and tribal areas of the entire State. As they function with solar energy, water supply here is free from any kind of power hindrance.
Along with settlements, availability of clean and safe drinking water has been ensured in schools also. So far, arrangement for clean drinking water has been made in 46,975 schools in the State. In Aanganwadis also, clean drinking water arrangement for children has been made through hand pumps or tap connection. At present, tube-well is the main source of drinking water in villages of the State. Because of irregular rainfall and excessive exploration of ground water, ground water level has declined in some parts of the State.