The Punjab government intends to start supplying 10 hours drinking water supply to 1000 new villages every year.
Addressing a Press conference, water supply and sanitation minister, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, said so far 1852 villages are being provided 10 hours water supply.
The minister said that 24 hours water supply was being provided to 107 villages and 24 hours water supply would be started in 50 more villages this year in the state.
He said that with the cost of 2200 Crore, hundred percent villages would be provided best water supply and sanitation facilities by 2021.
Bajwa said that new government projects are being started for the supply of canal water in the villages where the ground water is contaminated.
He said work of these two projects would be taken up in 2018 to be completed in next two years to ensure supply of good quality of water under World Bank and National Rural Drinking Water Supply Program.
Bajwa said the facility to pay water bills online has been implemented in the Mohali district and in next phase this facility would be implemented in the corporation cities.
He further said that the department for checking the water samples, the Water Supply Department would set up a world class testing laboratory at Amitrsar and the labs of Patiala and SAS Nagar would be upgraded at a cost of Rs 8.58 Crore.
Bajwa said that 157 new RO (reverse osmosis), a water purification technology, plants would be installed at the cost of Rs. 23.15 crore in the state. Apart from this, giving information about the current situation of the ongoing RO plant, he said that 2305 RO Plants were set up in the state, out of which 2184 are in working condition and 121 which are not functioning due to any reason.
He said 54 ROs of Mansa district would be functional byMarch 31 and estimate for repair of 25 ROs of the districts of Muktsar has been passed and the remaining 42 RO plants would also be operational by June this year.
The minister disclosing about the Swachh Punjab campaign in Punjab, said that all the villages of Punjab will be made open defecation free (ODF) this year. He said that so far, 13 districts, 86 blocks and 10238 villages have been declared ODF.