SRINAGAR: The Jal Jeevan Mission which is a Government of India initiative aimed at ensuring access to piped water to each individual household in rural areas will be completed before August 15 in Srinagar.
This was informed in a meeting of the District Jal Jeevan Mission Committee or DJJMC Srinagar held here Monday under the chairmanship of District Development Commissioner Srinagar Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary.
In the meeting, the district action plan – under the Jal Jeevan Mission – of 16.5 crore rupees was approved for providing individual tap water connections to over 1500 rural households which remain uncovered so far.
It was informed that these uncovered households are spread over all four rural blocks of the district adding that the existing scenario of coverage under tap water connections in rural Srinagar stands at over 9100 out of over 10600 connections.
It is notable that rural part of Srinagar district is spread over four blocks including Srinagar, Qamarwari, Khonmoh and Harwan comprising an aggregate of 21 panchayats.
Meanwhile, the district administration is also involved in efforts to bridge gaps in the drinking water apparatus of urban Srinagar. The Jal Shakti department has registered some 25 thousands tap water connections in the past fiscal. The registration of the remaining 75 thousand or so connections is under process as of now.
Efforts are also afoot to improve the overall drinking water scenario of the district. To ensure judicious use and prevent misuse of drinking water the district administration has approved the installation of smart water meters in households as well as commercial establishments across Srinagar.
During the meeting, the DJJMC also finalised the measures for water harvesting and conservation. It approved a 2.25 crore rupees project of harvesting tanks. The project will be executed by the Rural Development Department.
The meeting also discussed other relevant and important works that the Jal Shakti department in association with other departments is involved in.
Speaking on the occasion the DDC directed for the involvement of PRIs in rural areas. He said their involvement would ensure that no household is left out or missed.
He also called for the active involvement of elected members in municipal areas adding that their association and active participation will lead to judicious use of water preventing its misuse. He said their involvement will also help address local public issues as per the demands of locals and at appropriate times.
In regard to ensuring judicious use and preventing misuse of drinking water the meeting held that it was an important requisite of ensuring access to drinking water for all. It was decided that a sustained awareness campaign will be launched to stress the importance of water conservation and how disregard therefor is making others suffer.
Joint Director Planning, Superintending Engineer JSD, DPO ICDS, Assistant Commissioner Development, Executive Engineers, DFOs, CMO, DSWO and other members attended the meeting.
