Fix water supply problems within stipulated time, Nitish tells officials

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar

on Friday asked officials to redress people's grievances over drinking water supply within a stipulated time frame, a statement here said.

Kumar, during a meeting with the officials of three departments -- panchayati raj, public health engineering (PHE) and urban development -- said all water supply-related complaints registered at an integrated call centre, set up for the purpose, should be attended to at the earliest.

He also said efforts should be made to ensure that water is not wasted as it would have an adverse impact on the environment, the statement said.

A detailed presentation was made by the officials at the meeting on "proper implementation and maintenance" of two state-run water supply schemes -- Mukhya Mantri Grameen Payjal Nischay Yojana and Shahri Payjal Nischay Yojana.

Additional Chief Secretary of Panchayati Raj Department Amrit Lal Meena said arrangements have been made for recruiting a person for every panchayat who would take note if people were receiving timely supply of potable water.

He also said that the department would be giving the new recruits honorarium and incentives from time to time.

Jitendra Srivastava, the secretary of the Public Health Engineering Department, apprised the CM of the logistics involved in the upkeep of the piped lines.

Among others, Chief Secretary Deepak Kumar and CM's Principal Secretary Chanchal Kumar attended the meeting.