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Sanitation, drinking water situation poor: Union Minister

BERHAMPUR: The state of sanitation and availability of safe drinking water in rural areas of in the State was in dismal state because the State Government had failed to utilise the Central funds sanctioned for the purpose, alleged Union Minister of State for Rural Development Chandrasekhar Sahu.

Mr Sahu called a review meeting to discuss rural sanitation and drinking water supply at the conference hall of the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) in the city on Wednesday evening. This review meeting was attended by Central Secretary for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation, Amitabh Bhattacharya, State Rural Development Secretary S.N.Tripathy and RDC, southern division, Satyabrata Sahu along with other high-level officials of southern districts.

Speaking to newsmen after the review meeting Mr Sahu said that since 2002 the Union Government had sanctioned more than Rs. 100 crores to Orissa for rural sanitation and drinking water supply. But, he said, the State Government had failed to utilise the fund. “The dismal state of sanitation and the State Government’s apathy towards the problem could be assessed from the fact that only 25.41 per cent of the total families in the State have access to toilets,” he said.

He said that only 20 per cent of the Central funds meant for sanitation projects had been utilised in Orissa. Only 44.55 per cent of the schools in the State had toilets in them. He criticised the State Government for the delay of rural sanitation projects in 16 districts of the State due to non-sanction of the State’s share for the projects. Only six districts of the State had received funds for second phase of their sanitation projects, he said.

Under the Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission efforts were on to provide safe drinking water at all villages. But there were 16,492 villages in the State where there was no facility of safe drinking water. More than 1400 schools in the State did not have drinking water source, Mr Sahu said.

Efforts were on to provide drinking water facility in 647 schools in next few months, he said.

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