MP News: Public Health Engineering Department’s Rural Water Supply & Maintenance Draft Policy Likely To Get Cabinet Nod

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Public Health Engineering (PHE) department’s draft policy on “Running Operation and Maintenance of Rural Water Supply” for single-village schemes is likely to get the government’s approval soon. The policy seeks to empower gram panchayats to collect water tax and even disconnect tap connections in case of non-payment.

As per the draft policy, the PHE will handle the maintenance of rural water schemes implemented under the Jal Jeevan Mission. It also clearly fixes responsibilities and specifies the minimum maintenance period for various components related to water supply.

Principal Secretary (PHE) P Narhari told Free Press that the Jal Jeevan Mission aims to ensure functional water supply in villages for 25 years. “A policy is being drafted to ensure the scheme runs for 25 years and achieves the mission’s target,” he said.

Sources in the department confirmed that the draft policy has been sent for cabinet approval.

The move comes after it came to fore that several gram panchayats were unable to effectively operate rural water supply schemes. The proposed policy aims to address this issue. As the panchayats were unable to handle the maintenance part, the responsibility has been given to the PHE department.