Jaipur, March 14 (IANS). Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on Saturday directed officials and district administration to ensure adequate supply of drinking water in every village and city during the summer season, so that people do not face any shortage of water.
In the review meeting held at the Chief Minister’s Office regarding summer preparations, he said that the state’s summer contingency plan (plan to deal with heat) should be strictly implemented.
He directed the officials that the work of installing new hand pumps and tube wells, repairing old pumps, repairing pipelines and other water related systems should be completed before the onset of scorching heat.
The Chief Minister warned that any negligence in water supply will not be tolerated.
He directed the officials of Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) and Electricity Department to work together. Also said that all water related complaints received on the state helpline 181 should be resolved within 24 hours.
He also said that in areas where water is supplied once in 48, 72 or 96 hours, this gap should be reduced.
Officials told in the meeting that a detailed emergency plan has been prepared for rural and urban areas of 41 districts of the state. District collectors presented action plans according to their respective areas. In this, separate strategies have been made for the canal areas of Bikaner, desert areas like Jodhpur, tube well based areas of Dungarpur and tribal and hilly areas of Udaipur.
The Chief Minister also announced that the ‘Developed Rural-Urban Ward’ campaign will be launched in the state from March 19. Under this campaign, master plans for development will be prepared at the Gram Panchayat and urban ward level.
He said that in this scheme, special attention will be given to the development of facilities like education, health, drinking water, electricity and roads. Besides, opportunities for small and micro industries in rural and urban areas will also be promoted.
Referring to environmental protection, the Chief Minister said that in the last two years, about 19 crore saplings have been planted in the state, whereas this year a target has been set to plant more than 10 crore saplings.
He directed the officials to identify the place for plantation in advance and to encourage planting of fruit trees as per the local conditions, so that agriculture can benefit and water can also be conserved.
PHED Minister Kanhaiyalal, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Sumit Godara, Chief Secretary V. Srinivas and many senior officials were present in the meeting. Many Divisional Commissioners and District Collectors attended the meeting through video conferencing.
–IANS
ASH/DKP
