Chandigarh, February 26: Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Bram Shanker Jimpa has said that it is a matter of pride for the Punjab government that it has achieved target of providing tap/piped drinking water supply to every rural household under ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’.
The total number of rural households in Punjab is 34.26 lakh. He said that many more such achievements of the first year of the Bhagwant Mann led government will be taken to greater heights in the next four years.
Punjab has become the fifth state in India to achieve 100% coverage of piped drinking water supply to every rural household. Jimpa said that the Punjab government has made a name for itself at the national level in providing the most important clean water facility for living. The target of providing piped drinking water supply to more than 34 lakh rural households has been achieved by the State, while the national target is to be achieved by 2024.
The Water Supply and Sanitation Minister has congratulated all the officials, residents and public representatives who have worked to achieve this goal. Jimpa said that in the first year of Mann Government, the Chief Minister has started providing facilities to the villagers from their homes, living up to the pledge to run the government from the villages as soon as he assumed office.
He also added that the achievements of only 11 months will be given further impetus in the next 4 years and all efforts will be made to equip the villages of Punjab with all kinds of facilities.
Water Supply and Sanitation Department Principal Secretary D.K. Tiwari and HoD Muhammad Ishfaq said that every officer and employee of the department is working tirelessly 24*7 to provide safe & drinkable water and sanitation facilities to residents of villages. They said that this achievement would inspire every officer and employee of the WSS department to work harder.
It is pertinent to mention that Punjab has achieved 2nd position in North Zone for performance in ‘Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2022’ and was awarded prize of Rs. 1 crore by the Government of India (GoI).
The State also won awards for wall painting competitions on ODF Plus- Biodegradable Waste management (Rank 1), Plastic Waste Management (Rank 3) and Grey Water management (Rank 3).
