Allocated Rs 100 cr for clean drinking water: Punjab govt
The Punjab government has submitted in the Punjab and Haryana high court that it has allocated `100 crore in the budget for the financial year 2015-16 for installing purification systems in the villages battling water contamination.
The Punjab government has submitted in the Punjab and Haryana high court that it has allocated `100 crore in the budget for the financial year 2015-16 for installing purification systems in the villages battling water contamination.
It claims to have approved a project worth `88 crore for installing 561 reverse osmosis (RO) plants by raising a loan from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) under Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF). The work, it says, is likely to be completed within six months. Besides, it says, 1,824 reverse osmosis plants have been installed already.
The state government submitted in the high court that the Union Ministry of Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation had earmarked 15% funds for quality-affected habitations under National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP), and Punjab had requested it for additional money for quality-affected villages.
The ministry concerned was reviewing the guidelines for quality component and, hopefully, would enhance the allocation to the state, it was claimed.
The state government stated that it had submitted projects related to 1,971 habitations requiring 1,829 reverse osmosis plants under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme to the Indian government for approval. The next hearing in the court is on July 31.