Excelsior Correspondent
KATHUA, Dec 12: District Development Council (DDC) Kathua, Chairman, Col (retd) Mahan Singh has said that providing safe and adequate drinking water is among the Government’s top priorities and it stands fully committed to achieve the target of ‘”Ghar Ghar Jal, Ghar Ghar Nal” very soon.
He stated this while addressing a gathering after kick-starting drilling of bore wells for hand pumps in Basohli DDC constituency, today.
The DDC Chairman said that more than 400 new hand pumps at a cost of Rs. 12 crore are being installed in district Kathua out of district Capex budget and each hand pump involves an average expenditure of Rs. three lakh. Around 100 hand pumps are being installed in Basohli Assembly constituency, he added. He informed that there are already more than 1600 hand pumps in district Kathua and that the additional 400 hand pumps will go a long way in improving the availability of drinking water in this region, especially in Kandi and semi hilly areas.
Col Mahan Singh said that Rs. 186 crore has been allocated in the current financial year under Capex budget plan under ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’ (JJM). He said that the Jal Jeevan Mission is envisioned to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India.
The DDC Chairman asserted that the implementation of JJM is undoubtedly going to overcome the existing shortage of drinking water. Moreover, there is also a need to focus more on efficient ways of water usage harvesting, conservation and recycling, he added.
Asserting that after air drinking water is the second essential succor for survival of plants and animals, he said that he along with the party cadre shall leave no stone unturned in ensuring that PM Modi’s commitment to provide “Ghar Ghar Jal, Ghar Ghar Nal” gets fulfilled at the earliest.