BHUBANESWAR: Panchayati Raj and Drinkling Water Minister Rabi Narayan Naik on Friday said the state government is committed to provide safe drinking water to all households of the state by 2026.
Giving an update, the minister said out of the 207 mega drinking water projects sanctioned, 18 have been completed so far and another 54 projects will be completed by the end of this year. Construction work on other projects is also being expedited and being closely monitored. In case of any deviation, accountability is fixed and action is taken, he said.
Naik said 21 projects are targeted for completion by August, 11 by September and 22 by December.
As per data provided to the Centre, over 68.16 lakh out of 88.76 lakh households in the state have tap connection. To ensure water safety, Naik said, 5,27,570 tube wells, sanitary wells, 21,401 production wells and 15,155 overhead tanks are being regularly disinfected. Of the 29,512 tube wells sanctioned last year, nearly 20,891 have been completed, he added.