Every household In Vindhya-Bundelkhand, should get tap water by August: CM Yogi

● Determined to provide pure drinking water to every citizen of the state, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reviewed the progress of Jal Jeevan Mission and Namami Gange project in a high-level meeting on Monday and called for intensifying efforts to provide tap water to every household while giving necessary guidelines.

● With the resolution of ‘Har Ghar Nal-Har Ghar Jal’, a grand campaign is going on to provide pure drinking water to 2.65 crore rural families of the state. Before the start of Jal Jeevan Mission, only 5.16 lakh families had access to pure drinking water from the tap. Due to continuous efforts, today the dream of pure drinking water has come true for more than 1.30 crore families. A total of 59.38 lakh connections have been provided in the financial year 2022-23 alone. Remaining houses should also get piped drinking water in a phased and time-bound manner.

● Jal Jeevan Mission is on the priority of respected Prime Minister. Its implementation is being continuously reviewed by the Government of India. It is heartening that all the three districts (Gautam Budh Nagar, Jalaun and Shahjahanpur) in the Achiever category in the June 2023 survey are from Uttar Pradesh. Mainpuri and Auraiya have got the top two positions in the Performers category, while Azamgarh has topped in the Aspirants category. Similar efforts should be made in all the districts.

● Since April 2022, 22,714 tap connections were being installed every month in the state, which reached 12.96 lakh connections every month in May 2023. Presently 43,000 tap connections are being installed every day, which needs to be increased to 50,000 daily. The Prime Minister has set a target of March 2024 for the completion of Jal Jeevan Mission, so ensure provision of tap water to every house by this time at any rate.

● The success of national schemes like Jal Jeevan Mission, which make life easier for the common man, depends on the performance of Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh is a big state, so our responsibility is also big. There is no dearth of funds for Jal Jeevan Mission. Manpower should be increased as per the requirement. Trained plumber should be posted in every village. There should be no unnecessary delay in this.

● Pure drinking water was a dream for the Bundelkhand and Vindhya region. Today this dream is coming true. Both these areas are on top priority. With continuous efforts, Mahoba is going to become the first district in the state, where every house will have tap water facility. Achieve the target of providing tap water connection to every house in Jhansi, Lalitpur, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Banda, Chitrakoot, Mirzapur, Sonbhadra and the whole of Vindhya-Bundelkhand region in the next 02 months.

● Out of 98,445 villages in the state, work is in progress in 91,919 villages. Complete the work in all the villages within the time limit. The process of approval of SLSSC for 6800 villages for which DPR is ready, should be completed as soon as possible in each case.

● Rainwater harvesting should be encouraged in the villages. This can become a good model of water harvesting for the country.

● There should be no unnecessary delay in providing electricity connection in order to supply piped drinking water in to the Vindhya-Bundelkhand region. Namami Gange Department and Energy Department should complete this work in time with mutual coordination.

● Reservoirs have a major role in water supply in Bundelkhand. There is a problem of silt in them. Action should be taken to de-silt the reservoirs by the Irrigation and Water Resources Department.

● 100% saturated villages should be verified with transparency through Jal Jeevan Mission. If even a single consumer is dissatisfied, their expectations should be met. We have to further strengthen the system of on-site inspection. There should be complete cleanliness and transparency in the procedure. Along with water supply, ensuring good quality of water is of paramount importance.

● Special efforts are being made under Jal Jeevan Mission for improvement of water quality affected areas due to Arsenic, Fluoride, Salinity, Nitrate, Iron etc. In this regard additional financial assistance is being provided by the Government of India. Work in these areas needs to be expedited.

● With the resolution of Aviral-Nirmal Maa Ganga, good results have been seen in the ongoing Namami Gange project in mission mode for the cleanliness of Ganga and its tributaries. There are 27 Ganga Janpads and 37 Ganga Towns in the total 1027 km of Ganga river flow in the state. In the past, there was a polluted stretch of 550 km from Kannauj to Varanasi which came under Priority 04 in terms of quality. Due to improvement in the water quality of the said polluted section, it has come under priority 5 from November 2022. Now we have to pay special attention to Farrukhabad to Prayagraj and Mirzapur to Ghazipur sections.

● In Varanasi, U.P. Jal Nigam (Urban) needs to increase the utilization capacity of under utilized 120 MLD Goitha S.T.P. The approved 55 MLD capacity STP scheme should be completed as soon as possible for tapping the eighty nala over-pulls. Similarly, complete the upgradation of 01 non-compliant STP in Varanasi in a time-bound manner with the help of Railways.

● Baniapur STP under UP Jal Nigam (Urban) should be made operational in Kanpur. Make 04 non compliant STPs functional immediately. Similarly, for the treatment of tannery effluent at Jajmau, the efficiency of CETP of 36 MLD capacity is expected to be improved.

● Strict compliance with the standard of emitted effluent should be ensured by the UP Pollution Control Board, closely monitoring the tannery and other industrial effluents.

● Keep all the STPs installed in the state functional. Non-compliant or non-functional STPs should be made operational immediately. Cleanliness of rivers is not possible without public cooperation. People should be made aware for this. They should be motivated to cremate/bury bodies Instead of floating them into the rivers.