GUWAHATI, Jan 31 � �The Government of India is committed to fulfil Mahatma Gandhi�s dream of providing pure drinking water and sanitation to every household and the State Government will be given all possible support to achieve this goal in the state�, ensured Union Minister of State for Drinking Water and Sanitation Ram Kripal Yadav today. The Union Minister was reviewing the Water and Sanitation schemes of the state in a meeting held at the Betkuchi campus of the Water and Sanitation Support Organisation (WSSO) here, official sources said.
The Union Minister thoroughly reviewed the presentation of state�s Public Health Engineering Department on the status of water supply and sanitation, implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission and WSSO activities in the State. He then urged the State Government to give priority to providing pure drinking water and sanitation facilities to the schools, and the people belonging to the economically backward classes, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and minority communities.
The Union Minister said, �If we achieve the goal of providing drinking water and sanitation, then we will be able to eradicate 70 per cent of the diseases�. He also underscored the need of the State Government working hand in hand with the Central Government on a war footing to make the Swachh Bharat campaign a success by 2019.
Earlier in the day, the Union Minister launched a Monitoring and Evaluation tool developed under RWSSP-LIS in partnership with the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MoDWS). The World Bank has supported the MoWDS and National Informatics Centre in Developing the M & E software which is designed to improve accountability and good governance of service delivery to the rural communities.
The programme was also attended by senior officials of MoWDS, the state�s PHE Department and World Bank.
