Govt fails to achieve target of supplying potable water

Tribune News Service

Jammu, February 23

The government has failed to achieve target of supplying safe drinking water to people in Jammu and Kashmir during the 2016-17 fiscal. Against the plan to cover 375 habitations, only 13 habitations have been covered by the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department. While out of 339 schools identified for the purpose, only 32 have been provided safe drinking water.

The government data says only 15,000 people have been connected through various Centre-sponsored water schemes, while the target was to bring 2 lakh people under the schemes. “Nil achievement in respect of number of hand pumps installed has been reported by the department against the target of 672 set by the government,” says the data.

The data has revealed that in the major and medium irrigation sector, a target to cover 3,428 hectares was set for this fiscal, against which only potential of 195 hectares has been created, while in the minor irrigation sector, potential of 9,505 hectares has been created against the target of 25,842 hectares.

As per a survey conducted a decade back, there were 12,015 rural habitations in J&K and over the years 3,783 more habitations have emerged taking the number of habitations to 15,798 till the end of last year.

During the Legislative session the government had blamed repeated dry spells for water scarcity in the mountainous districts of Rajouri, Poonch, Kandi belt of Jammu, Doda and Kishtwar, which has affected several schemes of providing safe drinking water to people.

Though the government is planning to dig 370 deep drilled pumps exclusively for the mountainous districts to augment the supply and keep public order, but it highlights the effect of climate change and human factors on the natural resource in the state.