Rajasthan aims to be leader state in providing water connections: Minister

The newly-formed BJP government in Rajasthan seeks to provide safe and adequate drinking water to households under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) and is working on an ambitious plan to make the state a leader in providing water connections in the country, a senior minister has said.

Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) Minister Kanhaiya Lal Choudhary said the fast progress in the Jal Jeevan Mission is important for Rajasthan. The JJM is aimed at providing drinking water tap connections to households in rural India.

“Progress will be visible in JJM only when there will be more water connections. We aim to bring the state to the top of the ladder in the country in this water mission,” he said.

As per the plan, all ongoing mega projects will be monitored on a day-to-day basis and steps will be taken to prevent the wastage of water due to leakage.

“I have directed officials to take action against the contractors or firms and also to fix the responsibilities of engineers or officials concerned in case of slow work progress or delay in project completions. I have also instructed the officials to focus on increasing Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) in the projects for which work orders have been given. We aim to speed up water connections so that Rajasthan can reach the top position compared to other states,” the minister said.

The JJM has courted controversies in the state. Recently, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) conducted follow-up search operations at eight locations in Jaipur and Banswara districts in connection with corruption in the mission.

The searches were conducted at the house of ex-cabinet minister Mahesh Josh. Joshi held charge of the PHED during the Congress government. Raids were also conducted on officials of PHED, and private individuals.

According to government data, over 42 lakh water connections were provided under the JJM till the first week of June 2023.