Rajasthan approves Rs 5,120 cr to improve drinking water supply in state

To provide over 800,000 new drinking water connections in 176 cities and towns across Rajasthan

The Rajasthan government will soon implement the central government’s ambitious scheme, Amrut 2.0, and has approved around ₹5,120 crore to provide over 800,000 new drinking water connections in the cities and towns across the state, benefiting over 3.5 million people, an official of the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), which provides potable water to people in the state, said.

 

The initiative will bring drinking water relief to 176 cities and towns of the state.

 

The official said that the state government has approved proposals for improvement in drinking water supply and new connections in cities and towns across the state.

 

He said that the state’s finance department has also given financial approval of around ₹5,120 crore for this. As many as 835,000 new connections will be given in these cities and towns, which will benefit around 3.5 million people.

 

“At the same time, the drinking water system will be improved in the capital city Jaipur at a cost of over ₹560 crore under the scheme,” the official said.

 

Meanwhile, the Water Supply Department has started the tender process for the work to be done in Jaipur for improvement of drinking water. All the work will have to be completed within 30 months of the issuance of the work order.

 

The official said that under the scheme, out of the budget of around ₹565 crore released by the central government, works worth over ₹415 crore will be done in the area of Municipal Corporation Greater, while works worth over ₹145 crore will be done in the area of Municipal Corporation Heritage.

 

There are more than 515,000 lakh drinking water connections in Jaipur. Of these, there are over 235,000 connections in the city circle north and more than 279,000 lakh connections in the city circle south.

 

The official pointed out that out of the total connections, meters of more than 200,000 are faulty. In such a situation, 11,400 water smart meters will be installed in the identified areas under this scheme. New water lines will be laid in some areas and dilapidated ones will be replaced. Also, 17 reservoirs and three tanks with a water storage capacity of 5 crore litres will be constructed, so that the drinking water supply can be increased in the city during the summer season.