World Bank aided Punjab rural water and sanitation project launched by Badal

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today launched the second World Bank (WB) funded ‘Punjab Rural Water & Sanitation Sector Improvement Project’ of Rs.2200 crore aimed at improving Water & Sanitation Services and creating open defecation free environment in all villages across the state.
In his inaugural address, the Chief Minister thanked the World Bank especially it’s Country Director Mr. Onno Ruhl for getting this prestigious project sanctioned much before the closure of earlier project costing Rs.750 crore, which was slated to be closed on June 30, 2015.
The Chief Minister said that he was confident that with the concerted efforts of the departments of Water Supply & Sanitation and Rural Development & Panchayats Punjab would set an example by completing this gigantic task within two years much ahead of the deadline of 2019 fixed by the Government of India under ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’. Mr. Badal said he was delighted to learn that the total achievement under the first project was 125% which was unprecedented so far in any development project funded by the World Bank in our country.
The Chief Minister elaborated that the focus of new project was to provide a toilet and water connection in all the households within next three years (2015-2018). Likewise, all the existing rural water supply schemes would be augmented to provide 70 liters per capita per day (lpcd) against the current consumption of 40 lpcd. Mr. Badal pointed out that enhancement of water supply scheme to 70 lpcd would make it technically feasible to release water connections to all households as per demand. This in turn would lead to financial sustainability of Rural Water Supply (RWS) schemes and the villagers would have access to minimum 10 hour water supply.
Mr. Badal said that it was a matter of great pride and satisfaction that Punjab would become the first state in the country to achieve the prescribed norm for supplying potable drinking water at par with international standards in the rural sector besides making our state free from ‘open defecation’. Mr. Badal said that the state government was already committed to provide the clean and safe water to the people of Punjab especially in rural areas and thus earmarked Rs.300 crore to provide treated water from surface water resources such as rivers/canals to water quality affected in 121 villages of Moga and Barnala districts.