Cabinet nod for Jal Jeevan mission

Thiruvananthapuram: The cabinet on Wednesday gave clearance to a project under which 52.85 lakh rural households will receive a pipe-water connection in the next five years.
The chief minister said that the project titled Jal Jeevan Mission in collaboration with the Centre, will be completed in 2024. He said that the cabinet has decided to give administrative sanction for the project with a total project cost of Rs 22,720 crores.
The cabinet also approved to initiate works worth Rs 880 crore, of which barring Rs 80 crore to be chipped in by local self-government bodies, the other part will be equally shared by the state and the centre, in the ongoing year for the project. The project will ensure that all households in the state will have a pipe-water connection.
The project implementation will be the responsibility of the grama panchayats, and if there are more than one grama panchayats involved, coordination committees will be formed by including members from various grama panchayats, block panchayats and district panchayats for coordination. The cabinet also decided to impose trawling for 52 days in the sea within the state’s limits from June 9 to July 31.
The cabinet has decided to go ahead with the construction of a sanitary landfill for the proper disposal of solid non-biodegradable waste, on KINFRA land. The permission will be subject to clearance from the environment department. The chief minister said that 25 acres that were purchased from FACT by KINFRA for setting up of petrochemical park in Ernakulam will be utilized for setting up the sanitary landfill.
The cabinet also decided to strengthen the power supply in the medical colleges in the state in the wake of Covid-19. As part of this, 43 temporary posts of lineman will be created.
The cabinet also reviewed the overall progress of the ongoing national highway expansion in the state. The chief minister said that the government has decided to agree with the Centre’s condition that 25% of the land acquisition cost should be borne by the state, taking into consideration the development of the state. The funds will be made available from KIIFB. Already Rs 358 crore has been released from KIIFB for the purpose, he said.
He said that Rs 40,000 crore will be approximate expense for expanding the highway to a four-lane 45-metre wide highway, as estimated by the national highways authority of India.