| PHE fails to constitute DWSM, flouts guidelines of NRDWP | | | Arun Singh
Early Times Report
Jammu, Feb 1 : Flouting the guidelines of National Rural Drinking Water Programme, Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department failed to constitute District Water and Sanitation Mission (DWSM) required to be put in place at the district level to analyze and consolidate the village water security plans as a result the water security plans has not been formulated even after lapse of three years.
Sources told Early Times that as per guidelines, District Water and Sanitation Mission has to be established at the district level to analyze and consolidate the village water security plans at the district level for the implementation of the programme which has not attracted the attention authorities placed at the helms of affairs in the Public Health Engineering Department
"Besides constitution of the DWSM, the convergence of various other related programmes and funding was also to be ensured at the district level including Integrated Watershed Management projects of Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development, Central and State Finance Commission funds, NRHM, various Watershed and Irrigation schemes of the Ministry of Agriculture, various schemes of the Ministry of Water Resources etc," they added.
The apathetic attitude of the PHE department can be gauged from the fact that DWSMs were not established at the district level in the State as a result the water security plans were not formulated for implementation of the programme and the convergence of programme with other related schemes could not be ensured, they alleged.
Moreover, in order to ensure the success of the scheme, a Village Water and Sanitation Committee (VWSC) was also be set up under which further standing committee in each Gram Panchayat was also required to be constituted for planning, monitoring, implementation and operation and maintenance of their Water Supply Schemes so as to ensure active participation of the villages. But, as ill luck would have it , the VWSC was not put in place in any of the Gram Panchayats of the State thereby defeating the main purpose of the people-friendly programme. |
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