CUTTACK: The Odisha High Court has fixed January 9 to take a decision on seeking assistance of Odisha State Legal Service Authority (OSLSA) to ascertain the status of supply of drinking water and electrification in villages of the state.
The date was fixed while hearing a PIL on Thursday. Berhampur-based Bharatiya Bikash Parishad filed the PIL on lack of basic facilities in three villages of Nayagarh district. The petition sought the court’s intervention on lack of electricity, pucca roads, safe drinking water, health, education, communication including mobile network.
While hearing the PIL, the court had on August 5, 2024 asked the principal secretary Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water department to file an affidavit disclosing the status of electrification of villages and supply of drinking water to them.
On Thursday, when the court found that an affidavit had not been filed as per the direction, the division bench of Chief Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh and Justice Savitri Ratho said, that on the next date, it will consider issuing directions to the OSLSA to obtain the inputs from the paralegal volunteers (PLVs) on the status of supply of drinking water and electrification in the villages.
In the order, the bench also directed the principal secretary Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water department and collector Nayagarh to join the proceeding online.
Earlier in reply to the PIL, the Nayagarh collector had stated that of the 1,672 villages in the district, 107 are not connected by all-weather roads and 247 villages do not have mobile connectivity. All villages do have tube-well drinking water facilities and the mega pipe water supply scheme will also cover them shortly,
He also disclosed that 1,443 villages have electricity supply, indicating that apparently there are 229 villages which still do not have power supply.