100% piped water supply in villages, says minister

The Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation Department has achieved major targets in providing clean drinking water and better sanitation facilities to the rural population this year.

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Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian said under the ‘Har Ghar Jal’ scheme, Punjab had become the fifth state in the country to provide 100% piped water supply to rural households. To address the issues of water quality and scarcity, 15 major canal water projects, worth Rs 2,174 crore and covering 1,706 villages, were underway. These projects would benefit nearly 4 lakh families.

Mundian further said all villages of the state had achieved open defecation free (ODF) status under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural). A total of 5.64 lakh household toilets and 1,340 public conveniences had been constructed. More than 10,435 villages of the state have become ODF Plus (desirable) and 1,289 villages have achieved ODF Plus (model) status. Facilities had been provided for solid waste management in 3,366 villages and for grey-water management in 9,909 villages.