Jharkhand High Court

Ranchi, Feb. 24: The government today informed Jharkhand High Court that it planned to allocate as much as Rs 1,000 crore to solve the water woes of the state.

Arguing in a PIL filed for water supply in Pakur and Sahebgunj districts, the state counsel said money would be allotted to improve drinking water supply in all districts.

The advocate said that the drinking water and sanitation department has made plans for allocation of Rs 1,000 crores which will be passed in the annual budget session of the Assembly which is due to begin on February 28.

Meanwhile, an affidavit has also been filed by the drinking water and sanitation department, informing the court that the Union government had cleared usage of Farakka barrage water for domestic purposes in Pakur.

The government also filed a road map of the activities it intends to undertake for execution of the project for water supply in Pakur.

The state had been pursuing the matter for a long time with the Centre for water supply in Pakur which has been now cleared. The department further said pipelines will have to be laid from the barrage to reservoirs in Pakur for supply in the town area.

A consultant has already been appointed for the purpose who will study the feasibility and submit a detailed project report within three weeks. The report will then be scrutinised by the technical committee of the department.

Tenders will then be invited for contractors to bid and participate. The work schedule for laying the pipelines and its commissioning will be completed within two years, the court was informed.

The matter had come up in two PILs filed by Mita Pandey and Siddheshwar Mandal over inadequate water supply in Pakur and Sahebgunj districts. The court while hearing the matter earlier had pulled up the government for failinng to cater to the basic needs of the people. The case will be again taken up on March 7.

The petitioners said even a decade after Jharkhand attained statehood, no water supply project has been started in Pakur and Sahebgunj districts.