Cuttack, Aug. 30: Orissa government today admitted in high court that it could not provide drinking water facility to several anganwadi centres as tube wells were found to be dry after drilling.

The court was monitoring the provision of drinking water facilities at anganwadi centres while adjudicating on a PIL on implementation of special nutrition and mid-day meal programmes.

On July 5, the state rural development department had claimed that drinking water facilities had been provided to 1,316 of 8,050 anganwadi centres. Women and child welfare department also made similar claims. But doubts were cast over the claims by advocate-petitioner Dillip Kumar Mohapatra through an objection-affidavit alleging non-adherence to high court directions.

“Rural development department and women and child welfare department had not taken the assistance of geological department and tube wells had not been dug deeply enough that those would reach up to groundwater level. As a result, tube wells are not able to generate water and serve any purpose as it is a wastage of public money,” he said.

Rural development department’s principal secretary Surendra Nath Tripathy today owned up in an affidavit that after drilling tube wells were found dry in 16 anganwadi centres. “In 16 centres, drinking water facilities will be provided through overheads tanks as a temporary measure till further installation of tube wells/sanitary wells, as tube wells were found dry here after drilling,” Tripathy said.

Responding to allegations that drinking water was not available in most centres, the high court had on March 8 directed the rural development department to see that bore wells were drilled on war footing basis to ensure supply of pure drinking water to all anganwadi centres. The high court had repeated the order on May 13.

Responding to advocate-petitioner’s objection-affidavit, the court had expressed displeasure on July 29 and issued notices to principal secretary of rural development department and commissioner-cum-secretary of women and child welfare department “to show cause for disobedience of court order”.

The court had fixed August 30 as the date for next hearing on the case.

While tendering an apology, Tripathy said: “Court orders could not be complied with fully not for wilful latches but because of reasons beyond control. But the government is fully committed to execute orders of the court by the end of December, 2011.”

Drinking water facilities had been provided to 1,780 more anganwadi centres, the affidavit said.

In a similar affidavit filed today, women and child welfare department’s commissioner-cum-secretary Arti Ahuja tendered an “unqualified apology” and pleaded “there has been no intentional default in compliance of court orders”. Arti said 3,096 anganwadi centres had been provided with drinking water facilities till date.