Over 40 lakh tap connections provided in Chhattisgarh under Jal Jeevan Mission: Sao

Raipur, Jan 16 (PTI) More than 40 lakh household tap connections have been provided in Chhattisgarh so far under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), ensuring supply of clean drinking water to over 32 lakh homes, Deputy Chief Minister Arun Sao said on Friday.

Sao said that the effective and transparent implementation of the JJM has brought about a historic transformation in the availability of drinking water in rural areas of the state.

"Under JJM, as many as 40,87,027 household tap connections have been provided in the state so far, ensuring the supply of clean drinking water to more than 32 lakh homes," he said at a press conference at Samvad Auditorium in Nava Raipur Atal Nagar.

He pointed out that before the launch of JJM, Chhattisgarh had only 3,19,741 household tap connections, but the number has increased rapidly in the last two years of the BJP government's tenure.

The deputy chief minister said the state government's clear objective is to ensure safe, clean and sustainable drinking water for every rural household and to establish Chhattisgarh as a 'Har Ghar Jal' state in the near future.

As many as 6,572 villages have seen 100 per cent coverage under the initiative so far, while 5,564 have been declared 'Har Ghar Jal Grams', and of these, 4,544 have been formally certified, he said.

The number of certified 'Har Ghar Jal' villages has increased by 750 per cent over the past two years compared to the earlier period. Apart from this, water supply systems have been handed over to 5,088 gram panchayats, Sao said.

Before JJM, 308,287 handpumps, 4,440 tap water supply schemes, and 2,132 spot water supply schemes were operational in rural areas, he said, adding that 70 community water supply schemes are presently under implementation, benefiting 3,208 villages, with more than 9.85 lakh household tap connections linked to these schemes.

The deputy chief minister said that 77 water testing laboratories are operational in the state, of which 47 are accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).

"There will be no compromise on quality under the Jal Jeevan Mission. Over the past two years, penalties exceeding Rs 28.38 crore have been imposed for defective works, 629 contracts have been terminated, and 11 firms have been blacklisted," he said.

Strict departmental and legal action has also been taken against erring officials and contractors, he added.

Sao said the government is working towards providing nearly 8 lakh household tap connections, completing more than 21,000 incomplete schemes, transferring more than 24,000 schemes to gram panchayats, and completing all ongoing community water supply schemes within the stipulated time frame. PTI TKP ARU