KENDRAPARA: Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bishweswar Tudu on Friday accused the state government of failing to implement the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scheme which envisages the provision of drinking water through tap connections to all households in rural areas by 2024.
Addressing mediapersons as part of the month-long mass connect programme to mark nine years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre, Tudu said Odisha is lagging behind considerably in meeting its JJM targets though the Union government has allotted `4,054 crore funds since 2021 to provide drinking water to people in rural areas of the state.
“In the first phase, our ministry granted Rs 3,323 crore to the state government. Similarly, Rs 830.85 crore was allotted in the second phase. We have urged the state government several times to expedite project implementation and fund utilisation. But many projects under JJM are moving at a snail’s pace due to the slipshod attitude of the state government,” alleged the union minister.
JJM is a Centrally-assisted programme aimed at providing safe and adequate drinking water through tap connections to all households in rural India by 2024. However, the state government is yet to provide drinking water to 50 per cent of the people to date, he claimed.
Tudu further said the state government is hoodwinking people about the Mahanadi river water dispute with Chhattisgarh instead of taking proper steps to resolve the issue. Odisha government should construct several barrages and dams on the Mahanadi River to conserve water. Instead, it is unnecessarily blaming the Union government for water problems in the state, he said.
“Water is a state subject. It is the duty of the state government to provide water to farmers and others. Our department is ready to help the Odisha government to solve the water problems. But the state government has never approached us on the issue,” he claimed.
The minister said it is high time the people of Odisha elected a BJP government in the state. “Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government has failed to develop the state during its more than two-decade-long misrule. A BJP government both at the Centre and state, will work like a double engine and improve the lives of the people of Odisha,” he added.