Chief Minister Kamal Nath has directed to make permanent redressal plans for drinking water problem in urban and rural areas and to complete them within the prescribed time-limit.
The Chief Minister was reviewing the status of drinking water in a meeting of Public Health Engineering Department (PHE) and the State Jal Nigam Board of Directors at the Mantralaya on Thursday.
Establishment of new project units of the Jal Nigam in Mandsaur, Neemuch and Chhindwara district have been approved.
The Chief Minister said that the fact that there is no permanent solution to essential necessities like drinking water is a serious matter. He said that a time bound programme to solve this problem should be made as soon as possible. He said that water is also one of the basic needs of human beings and it is our responsibility to make it available as per people’s requirement.
The Chief Minister said that apart from raising financial resources, the cost of operation and maintenance should be assessed and attempt should be made to become self-reliant so that drinking water schemes run smoothly.
The Chief Minister instructed to formulate the Water Act and Drinking Water Policy in the state soon. He also told to study various models for the implementation of water supply schemes on PPP and Annuity mode.
Public Health Engineering Minister Sukhdev Panse, Chief Secretary SR Mohanty, Additional Chief Secretary Water Resources Gopal Reddy, Additional Chief Secretary Finance Anurag Jain, Principal Secretary PHE Sanjay Shukla and concerned senior officers were present in the meeting.
