For the current financial year, the central govt has approved Rs. 812 crores to implement Har Ghar Jal- Jal Jeevan Mission in the state Odisha. If you look at the last year’s allocation, it was Rs. 297 crores. As per the report, the Center allocates the fund after the presentation of the state Annual Action plan for 2020-2021.
The state authority has recently submitted the Annual Action Plan before the National Committee. The committee is headed by the Secretary of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
About the state’s 2020-21 Annual Action plan
As per the report, in the annual plan, the state government mentions the state plans to make available safe drinking water to around 16.21 lakh houses, out of around 81 lakh rural houses in 2020-21. On the other hand, the state government is also planning to facilitate 100 per cent tap connection to houses by the end of 2024.
The state government further mentions in the report that right now the priority is given for 100 per cent coverage of villages that come under Sansad Adarsh Gram, quality-affected areas, water scare areas, Gram Yojna Villages, ST/SC dominated regions and villages located in aspirational districts.
The government says it has developed a roadmap that will help in implementing the VAP-Village Action Plan effectively. Furthermore, the government is also trying to boost up the state’s existing sources of drinking water by introducing different programmes. This will further help the state in planning long-term sustainability of safe drinking water.
Besides, the government is planning to get NABL- “National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories” for 18 of the total water testing labs. It may be noted that currently, Odisha has 32 labs, but they are functioning at the district level.
The water supply works will create employment
As the temperature is rising each day and looking at the increasing cases of COVID-19, people mustn’t gather at drinking water sources. So, the home tap connection will help in maintaining social distancing. Besides, it will also help locals to get jobs, which will further fuel the rural economy. The migrants who are now returning to Odisha can be utilized for water supply work.
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