The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is set to launch a first-of-its-kind, ‘one-tap-one-tree’ campaign in the state from July 1.

This two-pronged campaign aims to expand green cover and ensure the provision of tap water in rural areas simultaneously. The state government seeks to plant over five lakh saplings in rural areas and provide safe drinking water in the first week of July, the official release said. Anurag Srivastava, Principal Secretary of Namami Gange and the Rural Water Supply Department chaired a meeting on Wednesday to this effect. Srivastava directed officials to conduct a plantation drive by Jal Samitis and other organizations on a massive scale between July 1 and 7.

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“The Jal Samitis and other organizations have been entrusted with the task of carrying out plantation drives at district, block and Gram Panchayat levels.

Members of the organizations will conduct environment-based programmes and spread awareness among villagers regarding saving the environment and water,” he said.

As per the release the Jal Samitis will educate people about the diseases caused by contaminated water and methods of prevention, as well as raise awareness about techniques to conserve rainwater, he said.

Jal-Shakti Minister Swatantra Dev Singh said, “The Yogi government does not only pay attention to the present but is equally concerned about the future. The campaign bears testimony to this.” He added that the initiative will ensure that “our future generations have access to clean drinking water and can breathe in a clean environment.”

The initiative will be launched by the Namami Gange and the Rural Water Supply Department on the instructions of the Chief Minister. Under the ‘Har-Ghar-Jal’ scheme, each beneficiary will now be provided with a sapling along with a tap water connection in the state.

These saplings will be planted by officials and employees of the Namami Gange and Rural Water Supply departments outside the homes of households receiving tap connections, on overhead tanks, at pump houses and at water treatment plants.

Uttar Pradesh has provided the maximum tap connections under the ‘Jal Samitis’ scheme among all states in the country. Around 40,000 to 42000 new tap water connections are provided to families in rural Uttar Pradesh every day.