KV Network

Development has to be all-round

Development has to be all-round
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Some of the key parameters to determine the level of development in any particular area include availability of basic facilities to the local population. One such facility is providing potable water to the residents. However, the job of the administration in Kashmir becomes somewhat easier given the abundant natural sources of water here.
Most places across Kashmir has abundant water resources. And most of it is pure in form as the origin of this water is glaciers and snow. However, most of the far off regions in this part of the world are not getting potable drinking water, making the lives of commoners miserable.
Despite the past governments promising potable water to all the households the claims remained confined to papers only. Even in remote Kandi and hilly areas of Kashmir region people have to walk several kilometers daily to get potable water for their daily use.
The situation became all the more difficult for the people during the harsh winter period when all sources of water froze and people had to manage the tough days without any supply of fresh water.
Given the increasing demand for potable water the administration had accorded sanction to the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) and roadmap to achieve 100 percent coverage of piped water supply by December 2021 across Jammu & Kashmir aligning it to the National Mission of Jal Jeevan.
The objective of the mission is to provide Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) to every rural household with priority to desert/drought prone and border areas, schools, anganwadi and health centres etc. Under the mission, sustainability of water supply system is to be ensured besides empowerment and development of human resource in the sector so as to meet the demands of construction, plumbing, water quality management and other purposes.
Notably, under the National Jal Jeevan Mission, every rural household across India will be connected with piped water supply by 2024. At present, 30.5% of J&K’s rural households have piped water connections compared to the national average of 18%. Special focus will be laid under the mission to provide FHTC to remaining 11.12 lakh rural households out of 16.02 lakh in J&K as per Integrated Management of Information System (IMIS) data of JJM.
The administration here had planned to achieve 100 percent coverage under JJM in a phased manner and the project is to be completed by December 2021. For ensuring this objective the PHE Department has carried out a detailed exercise to prepare District Water Security Plan through the District Water and Sanitation Mission headed by the concerned Deputy Commissioners.
In the initial phase, seven districts Poonch, Reasi, Samba, Srinagar, Ganderbal, Shopian and Pulwama were to be covered for 100% piped water supply by June 2020. However, many areas remained deficient in water.
During the second phase, seven more districts are to be covered by June 2021 and the remaining six districts shall be covered in the third phase ending December 2021.
The idea seems great but since we are in the habit of witnessing delay in execution of works and meeting deadlines, the government should ensure that the timeliness on this crucial project is adhered to.

 


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