Over 71% of rural populace set to get piped water supply by 2021
Kolkata: More than 71 percent of Bengal's rural populace is all set to get piped water supply by 2021.
This comes with the effort of the Mamata Banerjee government in completing Rs 10,800 crore worth projects in different parts of the state within the set deadline.
At present around 59 percent of the rural populace in the state reap the benefit of piped water supply. With completion of the ongoing projects, additional 50 lakh people will start getting the same and it will take the total percentage to 71.
The major projects include piped water supply scheme for 10 blocks in saline affected areas in Falta to Mathurapur in South 24-Parganas to benefit 19.35 lakh people, quite similar project for arsenic affected areas from Habra to Gaighata in North 24-Parganas for 14.22 lakh beneficiaries and two separate piped water supply schemes at Tapan to Gangarampur in South Dinajpur.
"Our target is to ensure that people can reap the benefits of the project at the earliest. So directions have been given to all concerned officials and engineers to ensure completion of at least three-fourth of the total projects by December 2020," said the state Public Health Engineering minister Soumen Mahapatra.
A senior official of the department said that work in all the ongoing projects had slowed down in the past three months as there was scarcity of manpower due to the nationwide lockdown. Now all local engineers were directed through video conferences to activate all concerned stakeholders to overcome the backlog. The percentage of benefitted people out of piped water supply till the year 2000 was only 21.85. The state had witnessed only 16.1 per cent increase in beneficiaries in ten years during the Left front rule as the figure had touched 37.95 percent in 2010. If everything goes as planned, the Mamata Banerjee government will ensure a double increase in the numbers of beneficiaries from 2011 to 2021.
Various new schemes have also been taken up to ensure tap water connection to individual households. Already 60 per cent of around 90 lakh rural households already have drinking water tap connection when the Centre dragged the issue of submitting Annual Action Plan (AAP) for the same by the Bengal government to a controversy.
The Asian Development Bank Project worth around Rs 1,300 crore is also going in Bankura and East Midnapore to benefit around 6 lakh people. Steps have been taken to supply safe drinking water in East Midnapore only after addressing the problem of high salinity in the area. Piped water supply will also be ensured in four blocks of Bankura by setting up surface water treatment plants as getting ground water in the district is difficult.
