New Delhi:
There is no
proposal to make access to potable water a fundamental right, Jal Shakti
Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat informed Lok Sabha on Thursday. Any such proposal is not
under consideration of the government, the minister said during Question Hour.
He was replying to a question raised by BJP
member Hema Malini.
However, Shekhawat said the government has initiated a scheme
to provide piped water to every rural household. The government is going to spend substantially on the
Jal Jeevan Mission, he said.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that
Rs 3.5 lakh crore will be spent in the next five years under the newly formed
Jal Jeevan Mission, which aims to provide piped water (‘Har Ghar Jal’) to all
rural households by 2024.
In reply to another question, Shekhawat said Government is
actively considering Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) programme as one of the
interventions for sustainable management of water resources in the country.
Under the National Perspective Plan (NPP) for water transfer
from water surplus basins to water-deficit basins, the National Water
Development Agency (NWDA) has identified 30 links (16 under Peninsular
Component and 14 under Himalayan Component) for preparation of Feasibility
Reports (FRs), he said.
The implementation of NPP is likely to raise the ultimate
irrigation potential through surface and ground water resources from 140
million Ha to 175 million Ha, generation of 34 million KW of power, apart from
the incidental benefits of water supply, flood control, drought mitigation,
navigation, fisheries, salinity and pollution control etc. (PTI)
