Gajendra Singh Shekhawat holds meeting with Karnataka CM over Mekedatu project

Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Tuesday, July 13 held a meeting with Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa and other Ministers over the Jal Jeevan mission. He stated that justice will be delivered to Karnataka with him looking into the pending projects. The National Jal Jeevan Mission was announced by the ministry of Jal Shakti in August 2019. In a tweet shared by ANI, Gajendra Singh stated, "I've reassured CM that I'll look into pending projects like Mekedatu project. I assured that justice will be given to Karnataka".

The minister himself took to Twitter earlier today and mentioned about his meeting with the Karnataka CM at the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru. He also mentioned that Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Irrigation Minister Madhuswamy were present at the meeting. In the Union budget of 2021-22, more than Rs 50,000 crore have been allocated to this scheme. 

On Monday, the minister held an audit and discussed the planning and implementation of the mission. Prahlad Patel and Bisweswar Tudu, the newly appointed ministers of state in the ministry were also present in the meeting. In a tweet after the meeting, he mentioned "In the meeting, #DDWS officials briefed the ministers on the progress of Project #HarGharJal over the years,". 

More about the government's flagship mission for piped water

The Jal Jeevan Mission is a central government initiative under the Ministry of Jal Shakti that aims to ensure access to piped water for every household in India. The goal of this mission is to provide all rural households of India with safe and adequate water through individual household tap connections by 2024. In the first quarter of the year, the mission was successful in providing  2.8 million households with tap water connections. Since its inception, the Jal Jeevan reports show an increase of 43.9 million in functional household tap connections. 

Another crucial part of the mission, The Har Ghar Nal Se Jal programme was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget 2019-20 speech. This programme aims to implement sustainable measures such as recharge and reuse through greywater management, water conservation, and rainwater harvesting as mandatory elements of the mission. The government will also include information, education and communication as key elements in the programme.