Chandigarh, November 3 – Haryana Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal has urged the Union Jal Shakti Minister, Mr. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to provide drinking water connections under the National Campaign of ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’ to dhanis in Haryana with 20 houses and provide relaxation in the condition regarding areas with a population of 100 persons, as a large number of people reside in dhanis in the state.
Besides this, the Chief Minister also suggested that the working of Village Water and Sanitation Committee (VWSC) can be monitored by the Zila Parishad.
The Chief Minister apprised the Union Jal Shakti Minister, Mr. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a review meeting regarding ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’ through video conferencing. The Ministers in-charge of rural water supply of States and Union Territories attended this meeting. The meeting was called on the completion of 100 days of implementation of ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’, which aims to provide Functional Household Water Connection (FHTC) in rural areas of the country till 2024. This Mission was announced by the Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi on August 15, 2019 from the Red Fort. Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Mr. Rattan Lal Kataria was also present through video conferencing from Panchkula.
The Chief Minister assured the Union Jal Shakti Minister that Haryana is steadfast to achieve the 100 per cent target of ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’ in all the villages with a population of 6,841 in the state by December 31, 2022 and is formulating plans for it.
The Chief Minister also informed Mr. Shekhawat that the state has set a target of providing 100 per cent drinking water connections in three districts namely Ambala, Kurukshetra and Panchkula, 17 blocks, 916 Gram Panchayats by March 31, 2021. He informed that Ambala district will be a Functional Household Water Connection (FHTC) district by January 26, 2021, and drinking water connections will remain functional in every household in every village.
It is noteworthy that on the implementation of the National Campaign of the Prime Minister's 100-day Jal Jeevan Mission, a target has been set to provide drinking water through taps in Anganwadi Centres and schools and for lavatories. Mr. Shekhawat held a review meeting in this regard with the concerned Ministers of the states today.
Sharing information about the status of the campaign in Haryana, the Chief Minister apprised the Union Jal Shakti Minister that out of 12,953 schools in the state, 12,918 schools have drinking water already. There are only 27 schools in which this work is to be done. Similarly, out of 25,962 Anganwadi Centres, water supply is being provided in 20,800 Anganwadi Centres. Moreover, till December 31, 2021, tap water will be provided in the remaining Anganwadis under the said Mission.
The Chief Minister informed that against the target of releasing 7 lakh Functional Household Water Connections (FHWC) in Haryana, 5.2 lakh connections have been issued. The water and sanitation committees have been set up in 6,178 villages in the state and action plans of 3,182 villages have been prepared.
Divulging more details, Mr. Manohar Lal informed that as per the standards issued by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, under the ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’, 18 districts (out of 22 districts of the state) fall in Category-1, three districts fall in Category-2 and the remaining one district, i.e. Nuh falls in the Category-3. The Chief Minister urged the Union Minister, Mr. Shekhawat to ensure that the water supply schemes are formulated soon under which a pipeline from Yamuna River is laid up till the Mewat district. He informed that a target has been set of completing the Mission work in 2,721 Gram Panchayats by December 31, 2020 under Category-1 in Haryana. Similarly, in the Category-2, there is a target of providing water supply from the pipeline to 2,500 Gram Panchayats by September 30, 2021 and 957 Gram Panchayats by December 31, 2022.
Union Jal Shakti Minister Mr. Gajendra Shekhawat called upon the states that the Jal Jeevan Mission is a dream project of the Prime Minister and its primary goal is to upgrade the lives of women. He further added that women should be provided relief from bringing water in pots for household needs, which should reach their homes through taps so that they can lead a good quality life. He added that the Mission aims at providing 55 litres of water per person per day.
Mr. Shekhawat apprised the Ministers the states, who are in-charge of the Mission that the Rashtriya Jal Jeevan Kosh will be established soon in which industrial houses and non-resident Indians (NRIs) will also be able to contribute. He said that a National Training Institute will be opened in Kolkata in order to enhance the efficiency of Engineers and Superintending Engineers associated with major Departments.
Secretary of the Union Jal Shakti Ministry and National Director of Jal Jeevan Mission, Mr. U.P Singh and Under Secretary, Mr. Bharat Lal also gave presentations about the Mission. He informed that Haryana ranks fourth in the country with regard to the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission and there is 100 per cent water supply through taps in its 2,497 villages.
In the meeting, Additional Chief Secretary of Public Health Engineering Department, Mr. Devender Singh, Deputy Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Mrs. Ashima Brar, Principal Secretary of Development and Panchayats Department, Mr. Sudhir Rajpal, Director of Rural Development, Mr. Hardeep Singh, and Chief Engineer Mr. Manpal Singh were present.