Minister for PHE, Irrigation & Flood Control, Sham Lal Chaudhary today ordered rationalization of the staff at all PHE installations to further streamline the supply of drinking water particularly in water stressed areas of the state. He directed the department to conduct staff audit in all districts and evenly deploy the workforce to run all the installations in a hassle free manner.He particularly directed for shifting the employees having prolonged overstay at their present place of posting to break the nexus at the local offices about which complaints are pouring in from different districts of the state.The Minister issued the directions while inspecting status of work on under construction building of Jal Bhawan at Transport Nagar Narwal here.Chief Engineer, PHE Susheel Aima, SEs and EXNs of the department accompanied the Minister during the visit.
The Minister asked the concerned authorities to expedite the pending work on the building by securing release of pending funds. The office complex being constructed at a cost of Rs 7.48 crore would house all main offices of PHE department. The Minister also visited the building block of Provincial Water Testing Laboratory at Jal Bhawan which is complete in all respects. He directed for completing the modalities for procuring the equipments and making the laboratory functional at the earliest.The Minister also inspected the PHE Mechanical Procurement Division Jammu and sought details about process being followed for the procurement of different materials. He also asked the concerned to explore the possibility of using HDPE water pipes considering their durability and low cost of laying.
The PHE Mechanical Procurement Division, Jammu provides water supply pipes pumping machinery, hand pumps and alum to various PHE Divisions as per their requirement.The Minister directed the officers to maintain cleanliness in and around the complex and place sign boards of each section of the office. Later, the Minister visited PHE Pumping Station, Boria Complex and inspected the working of the vital installation which supplies 6 Lakh gallon water per hour. The pumping station supplies water to Bagh-e-Bahu, Gandhi Nagar, CPS Narwal and other adjoining areas.