NH- 31 from Ranchi to Bahraogra will become the first highway to be covered under Highway Sanitation Programme (HSP) to be executed by Tata Steel limited under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Talking to the media persons while counting the achievements of his department here on Tuesday, Water Resources and Sanitation department Minister Chandra Prakash Chaudhary, said that under this programme toilet complexes will be developed at a distance of 20-25 km on State and National Highways, besides ensuring toilets at each petrol pumps and road side ‘dhabas’.
“Presently, petrol pumps on Ranchi – Bahragoda Highway is being done and directions are being given to them to put boards of public toilet, which is also mandatory for them,” said Chaudhary. As CSR has to play an important role to execute in executing the programme, Tata Steel has taken responsibility of Ranchi – Bhragora highway for which the initiatives were being taken, he added.
Chaudhary also said that massive handwash programme in the open defecation free districts is being conducted in Koderma, Simdega, Bokaro, Dhanbad and Giridih where habit of hand washing among children of Schools and Anganwari centers were being developed.
“The programme has been successfully covered at Dulmi of Ramgarh where 100 per cent children have been practicing the habit of hand washing,” he said.
Claiming that providing irrigation facilities to the farmers was the priority of the State Government, the Minister said that a target has also been fixed to provide tapped drinking water to each of the household in the State by 2022.
“More than 90 per cent of the budget allocation for the period 2017-18 has already been spent by the department and programmes related to drinking water worth more than 2000 crore was being started,” he said. The Minister also said that more than 14 lakh personal toilets have been constructed in the rural areas while Koderma, Ramgarh, and lohardaga have been made completely open defecation free districts.
“As many as 58 blocks, 1154 gram panchayats and 10,000 villages will be declared ODF by the end of this year,” he said. And, 10 more districts will also be declared ODF by the end of this year, he added.
Talking about the status of water resources in the State, Chaudhary said that several important works have been done and the approval for the constitution of water resources commission has been given by the State Government.
“It is being ensured that old schemes, pending so far, are started under which 1800 ponds all over the State will be renovated and 300 of them have been taken this year,” Chuadhary said. Irrigation capacity has been increased to 36.0 per cent during the last 1000 days, he added.