Minister calls for speeding up work on water schemes in Thane

Maharashtra Water Supply and sanitation Minister Gulabrao Patil has directed Thane district officials to complete water supply schemes pending under the Jal Jeevan Mission on a priority basis.

He was speaking at a meeting called to review thestatus of water supply schemes in the district on Thursday,officials said.

Patil told the meeting that the tendering process ofthe long-pending Bavali water supply scheme in Shahapur talukawill start in the next 15 days, they officials said.

The Rs 276-crore scheme has been sanctioned to supplywater to 97 tribal villages and 259 'padas' ((hamlets) in thetaluka.

The minister said drinking water woes of the talukawould be solved once the project is completed in the next twothree years.

Patil said the pending water supply schemes in Thanedistrict coming under the Jal Jeevan Mission should becompleted on a priority basis, the officials said.

Progress of water supply schemes in Ambernath, Kalyan,Bhiwandi, Murbad and Shahapur talukas were reviewed at themeeting.

The Jal Jeevan Mission is a central government projectthat assists and facilitates states/UTs in planning ofparticipatory rural water supply strategy for ensuring potabledrinking water security on a long-term basis to every ruralhousehold and public institutions.