BIHAR: A few days back, Phulpari Devi, 65, a Mahadalit from Vaishali district in Bihar, offered special prayers and distributed sweets among her neighbours as the tap water supply at her thatched house finally turned operational. Physically weak and fragile, She never imagined her daily chores would become easy.
Phulpari’s house comes under Bihar government’s ‘Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal’ (tap water in every home). She lives alone at Gaura Mahadalit Tola under Patepur block in Vaishali district. It used to be an arduous task to fetch drinking water every day from a hand pump at her neighbour’s house, besides the fact that the water is said to have arsenic contamination.
“Ab saaf aur surakshit paani mil raha hai. Koi dikkat nahi hai (I am getting clean and safe drinking water. There is no problem at all),” says. Manju Devi, a worker appointed by the state government, says all 61 households at the Mahadalit Tola have been provided with tap water. Many people at the sleepy hamlet had earlier complained of diseases like cancer due to the area’s groundwater contamination.
The Chief Minister’s ambitious proj
ect to provide clean and safe drinking water to every home was part of poll promises in the 2015 assembly elections. It was officially launched in September 2016 and has now achieved above 90 per cent of the target. Residents of Kharoj village under Masaurhi Block, in Patna District, were initially reluctant to install tap water connections. They feared they would have to pay a hefty amount for availing of the facility. Soon, they stood corrected.
“Everyone in the village now gets tap water supply from a nearby water tank thrice a day. The water purifier at some houses in the village are of no use, and so we are happy we don’t need to install a water purifier at our home,” said Niranjan Kumar, 45, a local who works as a private security guard in Patna.
According to the official records, under the ‘Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal’ scheme, over 152.16 lakh tap connections have already been installed in the state. This is in addition to 8.44 lakh connections provided under Central government’s Jal Jeevan Mission and 2.32 lakh connections through the National Rural Drinking Water Programme.
Bihar got appreciation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for exemplary performance in providing drinking water to every household through tap. Bihar Public Health and Engineering Department Minister Ram Prit Paswan said the state government returned `6,000 crore to the Centre as the target was about to be achieved.
The scheme has proved a boon for those living in villages atop the Kaimur hills. Earlier the residents had to walk at least a kilometre to fetch drinking water. The situation has completely changed with the launch of the tap water scheme.
The villages like Kubba, Kudwa, Rehal, Purana Rehal villages in Rohtas district have now access to tap water connections. Dhananjay Kumar, 23, a resident of Kubba village, said, “Water scarcity was a big problem for the residents, especially during the summer. But the problem has, to a large extent, been solved.”
However, some residents complained that the supply was irregular. “Nobody takes care of our complaints. We are fed up with the official apathy,” says Guleshwar Ansari.
With above 90 per cent target achieved, now the state Panchayati Raj department has devised a plan to entrust the tax collection responsibility from the beneficiaries of ‘Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal’ to panchayat level committees. The money realised as tax would go towards maintenance of the water tank and pipes, said Panchayati Raj Minister Samrat Choudhary.