Journalism of Courage
Rural households will get two to three hours of piped water supply and 14.6 crore such households will be provided piped water connection in the next five years as part of the Union government’s Jal Jeevan Mission, top officials of the Jal Shakti Ministry are learnt to have informed at a meeting of the group of Governors on Friday.
During the meeting, the officials also said that the focus under this ambitious programme will be on sustainability of water sources, it was informed.
Sources said the ministry officials also made a case for direct intervention by the Governors to push the efforts towards water conservation and suggested that Raj Bhavans should become the model for water conservation. They are learnt to have suggested that being chancellors of universities in their respective states, Governors can impress upon higher education institutions to use their campuses for rainwater harvesting.
Sources said that during the meeting the Governors gave several suggestions, with Bedi proposing that the focus should be on regional planning. They suggested a river basin management Bill to protect floodplains, it is learnt.
Water Resources department Secretary U P Singh and Drinking Water and Sanitation department Secretary Parameswaran Iyer were among the top officers present.
As part of the Jal Jeevan Mission, the government plans to provide all rural households with piped water connection. The project is estimated to cost Rs 3.50 lakh crore, with the Union government and states sharing the expenses 50:50.
The group of Governors on Jal Shakti was constituted by President Ram Nath Kovind in August this year. Kovind has also constituted four other groups on various socioeconomic issues.
The Governor of Jharkhand is convener of the group on tribal affairs, while the Gujarat Governor heads the group on farmer welfare and agriculture. A group headed by the Governor of Uttar Pradesh has been assigned the task of education and another group under the West Bengal Governor is deliberating on the issue of governance. The report of these groups will be deliberated in the 5th conference of the governors to be held in November this year.
