BHUBANESHWAR, Odisha: Odisha has achieved 100 per cent household water supply connection in 85 out of 114 towns in the country, the Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik stated while inaugurating ‘Jal Sathis’, the capacity building programme for engaging women from self -help groups in water distribution and consumer management with the aim of women empowerment.
Patnaik also mentioned that the state’s ‘Drink from Tap’ mission which provides drinking water round the clock adhering to international quality standards, has been included as part of AMRUT 2.0 for implementation in all states, including ‘Jal Sathi’.
Launched three years ago, the Jal Sathi initiative has been managing 8.4 lakh consumers by 740 Jal Sathis and have collected ₹67 crore to date. Based on the success of this programme, the state government has decided to associate with Mission Shakti groups in managing property tax in urban areas.
G. Mathivathanan, Principal Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Department, highlighted that 97 per cent of the urban population in the state has access to piped water. While 85 towns of the state have 100 per cent piped water supply connections, the remaining 20 towns will be covered by December 23, 2022.