Himachal front runner in implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission: Jai Ram

Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur on Monday said every household in Himachal Pradesh will be provided piped drinking water supply by July 2022 under the Jal Jeevan Mission.

While interacting with beneficiaries via video conferencing here, the CM said Himachal has emerged as a frontrunner in effective implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission in the country.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched it on August 15, 2019 with a provision of ₹3.5 lakh crore which envisages to provide functional tap connection to every rural household by 2024 in the country.

The CM said there are 17,04,231 households in the state out of which 1,61,102 have been provided with tap water in 2019-20. He said till date under various programmes, 11 lakh households were provided with tapped water and a target has been fixed for 2,44,351 households during the current financial year.

Himachal Pradesh has been recognised for providing fully functional household tapped water connection in Tashigang village in Lahaul Spiti district, situated at about 14,000 feet above sea level.

He said under the Jal Jeevan Mission, better quality of water is being ensured besides providing drinking water taps in all anganwari and educational institutions.

The CM said 100% coverage had been ensured in Lahaul-Spiti district, Kandaghat development block of Solan district and Pooh development block of Kinnaur district under the mission. He said 89% households were covered in Kinnaur district, 81% in Solan district, 74 % in Bilaspur district, 72% in Hamirpur district, 67% in Mandi district, 62% in Kangra district, 50 % each in Shimla and Kullu districts and 45% in Chamba district.

He said the Jal Shakti department has worked effectively even during the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure that desired targets were achieved within stipulated time period.

The beneficiaries thanked the CM for effectively implementing the scheme to provide tapped water to every rural household.