New Delhi, Mar 16 (UNI) Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Tuesday told Rajya Sabha that as of now 52 districts have been provided with the 100 percent tap water.
Replying to the debate on the Jal Shakti Ministry, he said that Congress Member Digivijay Singh had said on Monday that SC/ST households should get primacy but if only he had read the guidelines, he would have appreciated the Narendra Modi government.
Noting that the Government will have a repository on water quality across India, the Minister further said "We have started work on water quality. Everyone knows how to get blood tested. But no one is aware on where to go for water quality test. We have given five water testing kits in each village. We will soon have a repository on water quality across India”.
While taking a dig at the Opposition ruled states for inadequate spending of funds provided by the Centre, Mr Shekhawat said that when the Jal Jeevan Scheme began, only three percent household used to get tap water in the country. “More than half of the funds remains unutilised. The tapped water connection rose by 20 percent in rest of the country, but in Bengal this increase was only 3 percent. We have already launched Swachh Bharat-2 for complete sanitization.
"I can say with responsibility from Gangotri till Haridwar any one can drink water directly from Ganga," he said, adding that because of clean Ganga Water, the population of Dolphins and Hilsa fishes have increased by manifold in Ganga.
During his reply, Mr Shekhawat also appreciated the Telangana Government for providing tap water to each and every household and in Gujarat too, the tap water connection has gone up to 83 percent coverage while in Himachal Pradesh, it has been 76 percent of coverage.
Accusing the Congress led Government in Rajasthan; he said that he was in pain to know that his own state is lagging behind in tap water connectivity for pure drinking water.
The Jal Shakti Minister said that the Ministry has projects of clean drinking water to the tune of around Rs two lakhs crore and in consultation with many states, the Ministry has been working for tasks keeping demands of the future.
UNI AKS SHK1820