Gujarat Confidential: No tap water, no grant

Referring to complaints of unavailability of water from some taps installed under the Nal Se Jal Yojana, Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Paatil on Friday said that his ministry has written to all the chief ministers, stating that the Centre will not give them fresh grants till “all the taps get water”. Addressing a function to felicitate newly elected Sarpanches and ward members of gram panchayats in Gujarat, Paatil said that under the Jal Jivan Mission, the Narendra Modi-led government has provided tap water to around 15.65 crore households. “Some complaints have emerged that there is ‘nal (tap)’, but no ‘jal (water)’. We have written to the chief ministers of every state and told them that till all the taps get water, they will not get any fresh grant from the government. The objective behind this is to ensure action on the complaints,” Paatil said.