BHUBANESWAR: Stirred into action following the recent diarrhoea outbreak in several districts which claimed at least 24 lives, the state government has constituted a high-level inter-departmental committee to speed up implementation of mega piped water supply (PWS) projects.
Of the 207 mega PWS projects sanctioned between 2019 and 2023 for 314 blocks in the state, only 16 have been completed and the remaining ones are facing inordinate delays due to various issues, including forest land approvals, right of way (RoW), damage to pipelines, power supply and low voltage.
The committee headed by development commissioner Anu Garg met on Friday and decided to resolve all bottlenecks within a month. The move came in the wake of an extensive report titled ‘Loose motion: Flush with systemic rot’ by The New Indian Express on June 30 which exposed the gaps in the state’s public health and water infrastructure.
While a dedicated WhatsApp group of nodal officers/engineer-in-chiefs of the departments concerned has been created to enable realtime coordination, the committee will conduct reviews of the pending projects weekly or fortnightly to monitor progress and ensure completion on a war-footing. Members of the committee include secretaries of Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water, Energy, Rural Development, Works, Forest, Environment and Climate Change, and a representative of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
It was decided that a new operations and maintenance (O&M) policy will be formulated outlining the procedures and guidelines for the upkeep and operation of PWS infrastructure, equipment and systems for their optimal functionality and longevity. A digital platform will be developed to enable realtime monitoring of the implementation.
According to data, although 90 per cent (pc) works of 50 PWS projects have been completed, water supply is yet to commence due to incomplete last-mile connectivity. The rest 141 projects are in various stages (20 pc to 70 pc) of completion.
Similarly, of the 53,845 villages under 6,798 gram panchayats to be covered, only 9,435 villages and 403 GPs have received Har Ghar Jal certification. As per the Jal Jeevan Mission mandate, villagers have to certify if they are provided safe piped water at their doorstep.
Secretary of PR&DW Girish SN said at least 50 projects will be completed by October this year and all others will be commissioned by the end of next financial year.
“Water treatment plants, intake wells and overhead tanks take time. The inter-departmental coordination will help speed up execution and complete the projects as targeted,” he said.