Water Resources and Drinking Water and Sanitation Department Minister Chandra Prakash Chaudhary on Tuesday claimed that fresh drinking water would be made available to every household in the State by the year 2018.
While talking to mediapersons here, Chaudhary also said that at least two blocks in each of the districts would be made open defecation free (ODF) by the year 2017.
“Though fresh drinking water will be made available to every household by the year 2018, pipelined drinking water will be provided to the rural population by the year 2022,” said the Minister. Drinking Water and Sanitation Department in the last two years has already spent around Rs 2000 crore including Rs 1000 crore in Drinking Water and 1000 crore in Sanitation, he added.
“We have also been succeeded in spending more than 75 per cent of the budget allocation till date in the current financial year and expect that will cross 90-95 per cent mark by the end of it,” said Chaudhary.
Counting on the achievements made in the last two years, the Minister further said that 8.01 lakh Individual Household latrines (IHHl) had been construed thorough which, 12 blocks, 264 gram panchayats and 1,511 villages were made ODF.
“At least two blocks in each of the districts will be made ODF by the year 2017,” he said.
The Minister further added that as many as 576 rural pipeline drinking water projects were being implemented in the left Wing Extremism (lWE) affected districts and was expected that most of these areas will be covered by it by the end of the financial year 2017-18. “79 such schemes are also being implemented in the primitive tribes dominated areas,” said the Minister.
Chaudhary also said that it was for the first time since the State has come into being in the year 2000 that water investigation laboratories have been set up in each of the 24 districts.
“At least four rural drinking water schemes have been completed which has benefitted at last 19845 people while 7 more such projects are still being completed which will benefit at least 1.09 lakh a population of Fluoride/Arsenic affected districts,” said the minister.
While talking about Water Resources department, the Minister said that Rs 1154.53 crore was been spent in the financial year 2015-16 which was 50 per cent more than the maximum expenditure done by the earlier governments.
“Approval for the construction of 794 check dams has been given out of which 89 projects have already been completed while the rest of the projects are being completed. 29,812 hectares of the land will get irrigational facilities after the completion of these projects,” said Chaudhary.
Deepening of 167 ponds involving Rs 66.74 crore has also been approved out of which 66 projects have already been completed while the rest of the projects are being completed, he added.