Panchayats default on bills under water supply scheme

As per the latest survey conducted by Nielsen ONG Marg,the overall coverage of water supply in Punjab,through public sources,has risen from 47 to 57 per cent. Over 60 per cent of the SC population now have access to tapped water. In addition,over 91 per cent people have water supply sources in their premises in rural area.

Out of 10,000 villages covered under the scheme,2,219 have been transferred to village communities for operation and maintenance by the gram panchayats. However,out of these 2,219 villages,the scheme has been discontinued in 110,as the panchayats failed to pay electricity bills worth Rs 2.17 crore.

The public health department was granted relief in this regard by the Punjab and Haryana High Court,which has directed the village panchayats to pay the outstanding amount.

To ingrain responsibility for the scheme in villages and its residents,the department has started IEC to make villagers aware of the importance of quality drinking water,its prudent use and payment of user chargers. Through IEC,the department also aims to get every household in villages a water connection. Currently,out of the 10,000 villages under the scheme,only 74 per cent have ensured individual water connection for every household.

The Nielsen survey also revealed that 22.5 per cent of villagers face repeated problems with public water supply as either the pressure was low,disrupted or quantity was not sufficient. The survey also revealed that the use of hand pumps has come down from 39 per cent to 26 per cent.