Centre allocates Rs 25,000 cr to tackle Arsenic, Fluoride problen in drinking water

Speed Post News Network

New Delgh : The Central Government on March 22, 207, launched National Water Quality Sub Mission on Arsenic and Fluoride to provide safe drinking water to about 28,000 affected habitations in the country by March 2021 with an outlay of Rs 25,000 crore.

Inaugurating the mission here in collaboration with the states, Union Minister for Rural Development, Drinking Water and Sanitation and Panchayati Raj Narendra Singh Tomar said that while West Bengal is badly affected by the problem of arsenic, Rajasthan suffers from presence of fluoride in drinking water with serious health hazards. He said there are about 17.14 lakh rural habitations in India, of which about 77 % have been provided with safe drinking water of more than 40 litres per person per day and about 4 % of the habitations are suffering from problems of water quality.

The Minister assured the participating delegates that there will be no discrimination of funds against any state to address the twin challenges of drinking water and sanitation. Ministers of Drinking Water and Sanitation from 12 states participated at the National Workshop on `Water for All and Swachh Bharat’. Tomar said the government is committed to providing tap water on a sustained basis to every household by 2030 as per the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for which Rs 23,000 crore of central fund will be required annually till the target is achieved.

Tomar said that the dream of ‘Har Ghar Jal’ cannot be realized without the involvement of the citizens. He said that there are about 2,000 Blocks in the country with an acute shortage surface and groundwater sources and called for conservation of water on war footing through convergence of schemes like MGNREGA.

Dwelling on the issue of Swachhta, Tomar said that sanitation coverage has increased from 42% to 62% since the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission ( SBM) in October 2014. He said, apart from Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala which are ODF (Open Defecation Free) states, 4 to 5 more sates can become ODF in next six months. So far, 119 districts and 1.75 lakh villages have become ODF and the Centre has announced to incentivize the states for their timely progress. The Minister informed that since the launch of the SBM, more than 3.6 Crore toilets have been constructed in the rural areas and 16.41 lakh toilets were constructed under MGNREGA.