99% rural houses in Punjab have water supply, says Centre
New Delhi, August 9
Rajya Sabha MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney raised the issue of water supply and scarcity in Punjab. He said the problem needed to be addressed immediately.
In a question in the House, he expressed concern over rapidly falling water levels in Punjab, which is massively dependent on groundwater for agriculture. According to the data of the Central Ground Water Board, 69.31 per cent of the wells in the state recorded a decline. Borewells are getting dried up and farmers are facing problems in managing water for irrigation purposes. He asked the Ministry of Jal Shakti to pay attention to these issues pertaining to Punjab.
In its reply, the government said the Jal Jeevan Mission aims at universal coverage of rural households. Since the launch of the mission in August 2019, about 17.59 lakh (51.14 per cent) rural households in Punjab have been provided new tap water connections. As of August 3, a provision of tap water supply has been made to 34.38 lakh (99.9 per cent) rural households in Punjab.
