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Dr. Raghuvansh Prasad Singh has reminded the State Secretaries dealing with Rural Drinking Water Supply and Rural Sanitation that National Common Minimum Programme of the Government envisages water for all and all out efforts be made to fulfill this commitment of the Government. He also mentioned that adequate funds are being provided to the States during the current year for this purpose as the central plan outlay for 2005-06 for rural drinking water supply and sanitation has been increased by about 44% from Rs. 3300 crore in 2004-05 to Rs. 4750 crore in 2005-06. The States and Union Territories are required to gear up their machinery for coverage of the left over and slipped back habitations as well as rural schools, he added. The Rural Development Minister was inaugurating a day long conference of the State Secretaries dealing with rural drinking water supply and rural sanitation here today. Shri A. Narendra, Minister of State for Rural Development, Smt. Sunila Basant and senior officers of the Central and State Government dealing with the subject were also present on the occasion.
Dr. Raghuvansh Prasad Singh later released a Manual on Water Quality and Surveillance Programme and a Technical Note on Capacity Building and Training Modules on Total Sanitation Campaign on the occasion. Shri A. Narendra, Minister of State for Rural Development while speaking on the occasion emphasized the need to tackle problems relating to water quality in the country.
The one day Conference, besides reviewing the progress made by the States in rural drinking water supply and sanitation sectors, deliberated on the strategy for implementing newly launched Bharat Nirman. The Bharat Nirman programme, inter alia, envisages coverage of all uncovered rural habitations with drinking water supply by 2007.
RJ/AKS/AM
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