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Tamil Nadu
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Chennai
Initially 315 schools in 11 districts will be covered Rs. 200 crore allotted for the current year CHENNAI: The State will launch ‘Jalmani,’ a programme of installing standalone water purification systems in rural schools, on November 14, the Children’s Day. Initially 315 schools in 11 districts will be covered. Among the districts are Kancheepuram, Thiruvallur, Vellore, Krishngiri, Pudukottai, Virudhunagar, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram. To be wholly funded by the Central government, the programme envisages site-specific installation of water purification systems. An allocation of Rs. 200 crore has been made for the current year. Tamil Nadu has sought Rs. 31 crore, according to Swaran Singh, Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board. The State government has invited Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram to inaugurate the scheme in Sivaganga, the home district of the Minister. Santha Sheela Nair, Secretary of the Drinking Water Supply department of the Union Rural Development Ministry, has also been invited. On the same day, Local Administration Minister M.K. Stalin will commission such a system at a government school at Karapakkam in Thiruvallur district. The TWAD Board has been made the nodal agency. The State’s proposal was cleared at a high level meeting held in New Delhi on October 31, Mr. Swaran Singh said. Before the end of March, more than 315 schools would be covered. In the next phase, 30,000 schools would be brought under the scheme. As per the guidelines framed for the scheme, issues concerning technology, cost options and method of procurement are left to the State governments. The capital cost of each standalone system will not exceed Rs. 40,000, but the States can choose the appropriate technology at reasonable prices. At the State level, a committee led by either the Chief Secretary or Additional Chief Secretary in charge of the programme may be constituted to review the pace of implementation. The scheme can be implemented through either village panchayats or village water and sanitation committees or self-help groups. However, the States are permitted to involve non-governmental organisations or Mahila Mandals for better implementation at the village level. OwnershipThe district-level committees will be headed by the Collectors, while village panchayat presidents will be the chairpersons of the village-level committees. The ownership of the water purification systems will rest with school authorities. However, village panchayats are responsible for ensuring that the systems are run effectively and the schoolchildren get quality water in sufficient quantity. The operation and maintenance of the systems will be the responsibility of manufacturers and suppliers for five years, normally the life time of the water systems.
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