Thiruvananthapuram, the opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front on Monday criticized the Left government in Kerala for its alleged apathy towards the implementation of the Jal Jeevan mission in the state.
UDF MLA Anoop Jacob, part of the Kerala Congress (Jacob) group, sought a notice of adjournment motion in the Assembly and said that the Jal Jeevan Mission, which was introduced to provide drinking water to rural communities, was stuck in the state.
"Even now, people queue up at many places to get drinking water. Although the government claims that new connections have been provided, at least six lakh water pipe connections only come out with air," Jacob alleged.
He also said that the transparency of the project was also affected.
"The water authority's maintenance contractors are also suffering. The department has still not paid them for the last 19 months. At least 33 mission projects have been completely paralyzed. Most of the state's roads are dug up and damaged in the name of this mission, and people are suffering," Jacob said.
However, Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine dismissed the charges and said the Jal Jeevan Mission was a huge project being carried out simultaneously across the state.
"A project worth Rs 44,000 crore is being carried out to provide drinking water to the people of the state. The project is not being carried out in a single panchayat or a constituency. At least 1,04,400 kilometers are being excavated of roads under panchayats and PWDs for this purpose," Agustin said.
He further said that as of now, all houses in 92 panchayats have access to drinking water, while 100 more panchayats will join this list by December this year.
Meanwhile, opposition leader VD Satheesan rejected the minister's claims and said the project, which started in 2019, should be completed in five years, in 2024.
"Of this project, which is worth more than Rs 44,000 crore, only around Rs 9,730 crore has been spent so far. The government has not utilized the funds. The project is getting stalled..." Satheesan said.
He also said that of the Rs 9.73 billion, the Center has donated almost half the amount.
Countering the opposition's arguments, Agustin said that when the mission started, there were only 17 lakh water connections, but in the last three years, 19 lakh more connections were provided.
Agustín dismissed the opposition's claim that only 38.86 percent of the project had been completed.
"When we started, only 23.5 percent of houses had water connection, and now the proportion has increased to 54.5 percent," the minister said.
Satheesan ridiculed this claim and said that providing connections to 54 per cent of the houses was not enough. He said water supply through these connections must be ensured.
"When water sources have not been identified to provide water connections, when no purification system has been established for drinking water connections, what is the point of claiming a large number of water connections?" asked Satheesan.
Referring to the roads being dug up by the Water Authority in the name of Jal Jeevan Mission and not restored, Augustine said that out of more than one lakh kilometers of roads, up to 51,000 kilometers have been restored so far.
"It is a huge project that is being carried out across the state, not just something that is happening in a particular place. We are coordinating with various departments including LSGD, PWD and KSEB among others," the Minister said.
On the basis of the reply given by the Minister, Speaker AN Shamseer refused to allow notification of an adjournment motion, following which the opposition staged a strike.
UDF MLA Anoop Jacob, part of the Kerala Congress (Jacob) group, sought a notice of adjournment motion in the Assembly and said that the Jal Jeevan Mission, which was introduced to provide drinking water to rural communities, was stuck in the state.
"Even now, people queue up at many places to get drinking water. Although the government claims that new connections have been provided, at least six lakh water pipe connections only come out with air," Jacob alleged.
He also said that the transparency of the project was also affected.
"The water authority's maintenance contractors are also suffering. The department has still not paid them for the last 19 months. At least 33 mission projects have been completely paralyzed. Most of the state's roads are dug up and damaged in the name of this mission, and people are suffering," Jacob said.
However, Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine dismissed the charges and said the Jal Jeevan Mission was a huge project being carried out simultaneously across the state.
"A project worth Rs 44,000 crore is being carried out to provide drinking water to the people of the state. The project is not being carried out in a single panchayat or a constituency. At least 1,04,400 kilometers are being excavated of roads under panchayats and PWDs for this purpose," Agustin said.
He further said that as of now, all houses in 92 panchayats have access to drinking water, while 100 more panchayats will join this list by December this year.
Meanwhile, opposition leader VD Satheesan rejected the minister's claims and said the project, which started in 2019, should be completed in five years, in 2024.
"Of this project, which is worth more than Rs 44,000 crore, only around Rs 9,730 crore has been spent so far. The government has not utilized the funds. The project is getting stalled..." Satheesan said.
He also said that of the Rs 9.73 billion, the Center has donated almost half the amount.
Countering the opposition's arguments, Agustin said that when the mission started, there were only 17 lakh water connections, but in the last three years, 19 lakh more connections were provided.
Agustín dismissed the opposition's claim that only 38.86 percent of the project had been completed.
"When we started, only 23.5 percent of houses had water connection, and now the proportion has increased to 54.5 percent," the minister said.
Satheesan ridiculed this claim and said that providing connections to 54 per cent of the houses was not enough. He said water supply through these connections must be ensured.
"When water sources have not been identified to provide water connections, when no purification system has been established for drinking water connections, what is the point of claiming a large number of water connections?" asked Satheesan.
Referring to the roads being dug up by the Water Authority in the name of Jal Jeevan Mission and not restored, Augustine said that out of more than one lakh kilometers of roads, up to 51,000 kilometers have been restored so far.
"It is a huge project that is being carried out across the state, not just something that is happening in a particular place. We are coordinating with various departments including LSGD, PWD and KSEB among others," the Minister said.
On the basis of the reply given by the Minister, Speaker AN Shamseer refused to allow notification of an adjournment motion, following which the opposition staged a strike.
