Gandhinagar : Fulfilling the pledge of ‘Gramutthan’ (Village Upliftment) of Father of Nation, Mahatma Gandhi on his 151st Gandhi Jayanti celebration, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani today launched the ‘Nal se Jal’ scheme, under which drinking water would be supplied to 100 per cent houses in every village of four districts of Gujarat. Under the scheme, every village of these four districts – Gandhinagar (309,826 houses), Mehsana (510,503 houses), Anand (401,409 houses) and birth place of Mahatma Gandhi, Porbandar (67,572 houses) would be provided clean and safe drinking waters. The event was also attended, through a video conference from New Delhi, by Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. Besides him, the event was also attended from district headquarters by four state ministers, including Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister expressed a determination that just like as Gujarat has attained the pride of providing in-house toilets to every house in the state; we are now going to supply clean drinking waters to 100 per houses through water-taps in the state. We are determined to make Gujarat ‘Hand-Pump Free’ state. Pointing finger at the past, the Chief Minister said that previously the rural women had to walk several kilometers in search of drinking waters and water was being supplied through tankers. The scarcity of drinking waters has become a history in Gujarat as we have setup robust planning to supply drinking waters to every house through a water-pipeline in the state.
Rupani further stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for water management has completed the Narmada dam. Under the SAUNI Yojana we have filled 115 dams, under the Sujlam Suflam Scheme over 5,000 lakes were filled with waters in North-Gujarat and we have supplied drinking water through Narmada Canal to far-off places in the Kutch region. Terming the water as a fundamental for the growth, CM Rupani said that through supply of clean drinking water to every house in the state, we are aiming to make Gujarat a role-model state with holistic development, along with disease free-health state, of the country. Addressing the event through video conference from Delhi, the Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said the competent leadership of the Prime Minister has brought affirmative results in the life of weak, poor, victimized and exploited people.
Drinking water scarcity which was a problem for several decades would soon end with achieving the targets of supplying waters through water-taps under the ‘Nal se Jal’ scheme within the stipulated time frame. In last two years, this government has supplied drinking water to 2.31 crore houses, Shekhawat added. The Union Minister had congratulated CM Rupani for launching ‘Nal se Jal’ scheme to supply drinking waters to rural areas of the four districts of Gujarat. The event was also attended by Mr. Dhananjay Dwivedi, Secretary (Water Supply Department), members of the Water Supply Board and senior officials from the Gandhinagar.
