Himachal Pradesh received the highest amount of Rs. 221.28 crore as incentive fund out of total Rs. 464.28 crore allocated to seven states of the country for best performance for physical and financial progress and better ability to utilize the funds under Jal Jeevan Mission. Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said this during a meeting with officers of Jal Shakti and Public Works Department in Mandi district today.Chief Minister said that despite the situation of Covid-19 and lockdown, Himachal Pradesh was the first state in the country to spend the amount received in the four installments and to achieve the target under Jal Jeevan Mission by the month of November 2020.The Chief Minister said that Jal Jeevan Mission is a universal water supply scheme, under which the government has worked systematically to provide pure drinking water through pipes in all the villages of the state. As a result of which water connection has been provided to more than 13 lakh households in the state. He said that three districts, 11 blocks, 825 panchayats and 8,346 villages of the state were brought under Har Ghar Jal Yojna. Drinking water has been made available to all schools and Anganwaris in the state under this scheme.Jai Ram Thakur expressed happiness that Himachal Pradesh would achieve the target of cent-percent piped water connection under Jal Jeevan Mission by July, 2022, against the target set by the Government of India of achieving piped water connection by 2024.
He said that the state government is working not only to provide water to every household but also emphasising on schemes such as water conservation and storage under the Jal Jeevan Mission so that the water level of the land could be recharged due to continuous overuse.The Chief Minister thanked the Prime Minister and the Union Jal Shakti Minister for providing an incentive amount of Rs. 221.28 crore to the state. He also lauded the efforts of Jal Shakti Minister Mahender Singh Thakur for the successful implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission in the state.Jai Ram Thakur directed the officers of the Public Works Department to speed up the work of tarring the roads. He said that timely supply of bitumen would be ensured with the cooperation of the Union Ministry so that the roads could be mettled at the earliest. He also took stock of the development works done in the last three years.The Chief Minister also listened the grievances of people on this occasion.Jal Shakti Minister Mahender Singh Thakur, Education Minister Govind Singh Thakur and Banjar MLA Surender Shourie, Deputy Commissioner Rugved Thakur, Superintendent of Police Shalini Agnihotri, Chief Engineer of Jal Shakti Department Mandi Dharmender Gill, Superintending Engineer Upender Vaidya and Deepak Garg, Public Works Department Chief Engineer Mandi Ajay Gupta and Superintending Engineer Vijay Chaudhary and other officers were also present on this occasion.