From Trishna Pegu Doley
GUWAHATI : Minister for Environment and Forest, Excise and Fisheries, Parimal Suklabaidya inaugurated several piped water supply schemes under Jal Jeevan Mission in Cachar district on Saturday. Minister Suklabaidya inaugurated the bulk dedicated functional household tap connection with retrofitting at Allenpur tea estate at an estimated cost of Rs.48 lakhs in presence of dignitaries. Altogether 233 households have been provided access to tap water connections under the scheme. Suklabaidya also inaugurated a piped water supply scheme at Norsingpur tea estate at an estimated cost of Rs.48 lakhs. 184 households have been brought under the scheme.
The Minister also inaugurated piped water supply schemes at Paloi tea estate at a cost of Rs.40 lakh, at Derby tea garden and at Panibhora tea garden at an estimated cost of Rs.48 lakhs. All this piped water supply schemes have been executed by the Silchar Public Health Engineering Department, Division No.II, Cachar. Speaking on the occasion, Suklabaidya said the Jal Jeevan Mission, a pet project of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is envisioned to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India. “Jal Jeevan Mission looks to create a jan andolan for water, thereby making it everyone’s priority, ” he quipped.
Jal Jeevan Mission, a Government of India’s flagship scheme with the objective to make piped water available to all, has provided about 2.8 million households with tap water connections in the first quarter of this year. In its periodic review published in the ninth edition of its monthly bulletin, National Jal Jeevan Mission (NJJM) lists 13 activities that the state and Union Territory governments need to expedite to achieve the mission objective. These activities include providing 100% piped water to schools, anganwadis etc, voluntary ownership of water supply by local communities, and creating awareness on various aspects and significance of potable drinking water.