In a bid to ensure water supply for drinking purpose and for the toilets in the primary schools across the State, Drinking Water and Sanitation Department has decided to guarantee uninterrupted solar enabled water supply to them through pipelines. Villages and Panchayats will also get benefitted under the programme.
“Those remote areas where there is no electricity supply or do not have sufficient voltage supply, round the clock water supply could be ensured to such areas through the solar enabled water pumps,” said minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation Department Chandraprakash Chaudhary. “Initially, 5,000 primary schools of the State will be provided water supply under the scheme,” he added.
In the current financial year, a target of 100 pipeline supply will be completed for providing pure drinking water to the villagers to the block headquarters. Chaudhary also claimed that each and every household will be ensured toilets till October 2019 under Swaccha Bharat Mission for which the initiatives have already been taken by the State Government.
Ironically, this is the second attempt of the government to use solar power for supplying drinking water in primary schools. A similar scheme, introduced by the Central Government under Integrated Action Plan (IAP) districts two years back, had failed off. Under the plan, a single phase-one horse power solar energy-based submersible pump was to be installed in a high yield bore-well, with a hand pump fitted to it. Water which is lifted from the system could be stored in an elevated tank from which water could be supplied to every household through pipelines.
The project however, is still pending due to some technical hurdles in the implementation of this scheme. “Some 2000 solar pumps were to be installed across the State to provide pure drinking water which is still pending due to some technical problems,” said a top official in Drinking Water and Sanitation Department requesting anonymity. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy was to install solar energy pumps while Water and Sanitation Department was to look after the boring side, added the official.
The drinking water and sanitation ministry had earlier proposed to the NREM for partial funding of this project. “Although the funds have been approved by the Centre, the State does not have the funds (Rs 108 crore approx), required for the distribution pipelines,” said the official. Moreover, the venue is yet to be decided by the department for the installation of the water pumps, he added.
17 districts — Bokaro, Chatra, Garhwa, Giridih, Gumla, Hazaribagh, Khunti, Koderma, latehar, lohardaga, Palamau, East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum, Ramgarh, Ranchi, Seraikela-Kharsawan and Simdega districts — in Jharkhand figure on the list of beneficiaries. Kanke, Namkum and Ratu blocks or Ranchi are also to get benefitted under the scheme. Such schemes can meet requirement of about 250 persons - population of a small village.