Govt to improve drinking water supply in urban areas

New Delhi, Feb 1 (UNI) Secretary Ministry of Urban Development Secretary M Ramachandran today said supply of drinking water in urban areas throughout the country will receive a priority in the forthcoming five-year plan.

Drinking water supply would be addressed during the forthcoming five-year plan. It was a key area in Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, which was a revival plan for the 63 cities and towns, he said at a workshop on 'Improving Service Delivery in Urban Water Supply, Sanitation and Sewerage'.

Under the Urban Infrastructure Development Project, a sister scheme of the Mission, another 5,000 towns and cities would be covered, he added.

Asked about the budgetary support for the project, he said ''JNNURM is a seven-year Rs 50,000-crore programme of the Centre that also has smaller contributions from state governments and local bodies concerned. It has a provision of Rs 2,500 crore in this financial year and we have asked for Rs 4,000 crore for the next fiscal.'' A large number of local bodies across the country were planning to introduce reforms in the area of drinking water supply like 24 x 7 availability, improving quality, pluging leaks and 'rationalising' user charges.

The two-day workshop, organised by the World Bank, was being attended by government officials and experts from India and abroad.

UNI