The first State-level drinking water quality testing laboratory is coming up here amid the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the supply of safe drinking water to all rural households with focus on the water quality monitoring and surveillance (WQMS) programme. A new building for the laboratory will be constructed in Jaipur at a cost of ₹.
The WQMS programme has been launched in Rajasthan as part of the Centre’s flagship Jal Jeevan Mission, which envisages supply of safe and adequate drinking water through individual tap connections to all rural households by 2024. A target has been set for supplying 55 litres of water per person per day to every household in the rural areas, where the people have been facing scarcity of water.
Additional Chief Secretary, Public Health Engineering Department, Sudhansh Pant, said here on Friday that the accreditation for the district-level labs would be obtained from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) and new laboratories would also be established this year at 102 panchayat samiti headquarters in the State.
The State government has allocated ₹ 67 crore in the 2021-22 Annual Plan for the WQMS activities. Mr. Pant said the scope would be explored for establishing block-level drinking water quality testing laboratories on the premises of the primary health centres.
Change in norms sought
The Congress government in the State has sought changes in the norms for Central assistance for the Jal Jeevan Mission, which at present stipulates the shares of the Centre and the State in 50:50 ratio. The State government has sought enhancement of the Centre’s share in the mission to 90% in order to reduce financial burden on the States.
Rajasthan, where only 12% households are currently getting piped water, has formulated new action plans for implementing the Jal Jeevan Mission by rejuvenating the sources of water to provide connections to about 98 lakh rural households.
The community approach to water is a key component of the mission and different sources, including rainwater harvesting, have been tapped for it.
