Lieutenant Governor, Girish Chandra Murmu today directed for achieving the target of providing 100 % piped water supply to each household in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir by ending 2021. The Lt. Governor passed these directions while chairing a meeting to review the functioning of PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Department here at Raj Bhavan.Sh. BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary; Sh. Arun Kumar Mehta, Financial Commissioner, Finance; Sh. Bipul Pathak, Principal Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor; Sh. Ajeet Kumar Sahu, Commissioner/Secretary PHE andI&FC; Sh. Pandurang K. Pole, Secretary, Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction; Ms. Avny Lavasa, CEO, J&K Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) and Chief Engineers- PHE and I&FC were among the officers who attended the meeting.Commissioner/Secretary PHE and I&FC, Ajeet Kumar Sahu , gave a detailed presentation on the functioning of the department and status of various ongoing projects including 100 % piped water supply to each household and Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).The meeting was informed that the J&K Government has envisaged connecting each and every household with Piped water supply by 2022.
The Lt. Governor observed that water is a basic necessity and directed the officers to achieve the set target of providing 100 % piped water supply to each household in J&K by ending 2021.Calling conservation of water sources as critical, the Lt. Governor called for active participation of Local Bodies and PRIs in water conservation.He also emphasized on convergence of MGNREGA and other Local Bodies’ funds to protect the sources of water. He further underscored the need for capacity building and technical knowhow of the officials to enhance the delivering mechanism of various services.During the meeting, the Lt. Governor sought a detailed report on River Jhelum Flood Management on which, Commissioner/Secretary PHE informed that works worth Rs 399.29 cr stand completed in Phase-I and Rs 1684 cr DPR has been submitted for the Phase-II.The Lt. Governor directed the officers to notify the restricted flood prone areas and prepare a comprehensive desilting plan for critical streams and spill channels.To strengthen the forewarning system of Disaster Management, the Lt. Governor suggested the launching of bulk SMS service during the monsoon season in addition to the dissemination of information through social, print and electronic media. He also underlined the need to integrate flood management norms with building bye laws.