Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today appealed to the Centre to clear promptly a Rs 226.82-crore project to address the problem of drinking water contamination in the state.
Flagging the issue at a meeting with Union Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Birender Singh, Badal said the state government had already submitted a detailed proposal envisaging special allocation to tackle presence of uranium and other heavy metals in water in many areas.
Badal said a comprehensive project of Rs 226.82 crore for installation of 1,829 water treatment plants in 1,971 habitations was submitted to the Centre in October, 2014.
He requested Singh for early sanction and release of requisite funds so that people of the state could be saved from the curse of deadly water-borne diseases.
He also sought higher allocation of funds under National Rural Drinking Water Project (NRDWP) and asked the ministry to change the existing norms of allocation so as people residing in low lying areas could be covered under this scheme.
The Ministry informed Badal that current norms only permitted states to get this special allocation under the prescribed norms for Desert Development Project (DDP) and the areas referred by the Chief Minister like Kandi and water-logged were not eligible for this scheme.
Badal also urged the Ministry to hike the MGNREGA wage rate from existing Rs 201 to Rs 300 per day in wake of higher prevailing market wage rate in Punjab.
Under Indra Awaas Yojna, the Chief Minister demanded to enhance the assistance from existing Rs 70,000 to Rs 2 lakh as the amount allocated to beneficiaries under the scheme was insufficient to construct their houses due to the higher rates of construction material.
Badal asked the Ministry to release immediately Rs 35 crore under Integrated Watershed Management Program (IWMP) as the Prime Minister Krishi Sinchayee Yojna (PMKSY) has already notified 44 critical/over exploited blocks in Punjab where ground water table was depleting, of which 13 blocks have been selected so far under this project.
Likewise, the Chief Minister also requested Singh to release the balance funds of Rs 502.01 crore out of Rs 997.99 crore sanctioned by the Centre under Prime Minister Gram Sarak Yojna (PMGSY) for construction of 279 rural roads having length of 2,954 KM.
He also sought early clearance of the project worth Rs 867.71 crore submitted under PMGSY-II for the construction of roads of having length of 1346.31 KM.
A state government release claimed the Minister agreed to release funds promptly to tackle the problem of drinking water and asked officers to visit the affected villages.
