Centre’s Jal Jeevan Mission to be implemented in district by next year: MP PratapSimha

Mysore/Mysuru: Commissioner G. Lakshmikantha Reddy said that the MCC’s annual water tax collection rose to more than Rs. 93 crore last year from an average Rs. 48 crore the previous years, after illegal water connections were detected and all the connections were metered.

He was speaking at the District Development Co-ordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) meeting at the office of Mysuru ZP here on Saturday.

Pointing out that about 50,000 illegal water connections were discovered during a drive, Reddy said that this number was brought down to less than 5,000 and as such the water tax collection has risen to Rs. 93 crore which is almost double the tax collection recorded in the previous years.

Earlier, MP PratapSimha, who presided over the meeting, said that the Centre’s Jal Jeevan Mission will reach every household in Mysuru district by next year. Noting that under the Mission, every household will get piped water supply, he maintained that the people of Mysuru would not face scarcity of drinking water when the district has sufficient water resources.

Continuing, the MP said that the Rs. 289 crore water project under the Jal Jeevan Mission will supply water from Hadya to 303 villages in Periyapatna taluk. Similar drinking water projects under the Mission will be taken up in other taluks, he said adding that water supply under AMRUT Scheme-1 has been taken up in Hootagalli CMC and also the four Town Panchayats.

Expressing displeasure over the lack of progress in the distribution of Ayushman cards, he said the district had the target of distributing 25 lakh cards. But only 5.65 lakh cards have been distributed so far which accounts to just over 20 percent of the target, he lamented.

He asked the officials to launch an Adalat-type programme in every Gram Panchayat (GP) for achieving the target.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Dr. K.V. Rajendra said Ayushman cards are also being distributed through Bapuji Service Centres in the GPs. The DC directed the Agriculture Department officials to look into complaints of spurious sowing seeds and fertilisers. In reply, the Joint Director of Agriculture said that nine FIRs have been lodged based on the complaints.

MLAs T.S. Srivatsa, K. Harishgowda and DarshanDhruvanarayan, ZP CEO K.M. Gayathri and other officials were present.