AMRUT towns to receive piped water

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Bhubaneswar: The state government has decided to provide piped water to all households in nine towns covered under AMRUT scheme to achieve the goal of universal water coverage.
Chairing the state level high power committee on Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) Tuesday, Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi directed the Housing and Urban Development department to provide the entire population of AMRUT towns with piped water.
The towns covered under the scheme are Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, Berhampur, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Balasore, Bhadrak and Baripada.
Padhi also directed the department to complete the projects before time while safeguarding the quality of these projects and ensuring delivery of services to the people by the scheduled time.
The meeting decided to prioritise the projects in order of drinking water, sewerage/septage and parks and playgrounds.
According to a review, 192 projects have been approved as of now and taken up under AMRUT scheme, of which, 130 are water supply projects, 14 are septage projects and 48 are park projects, an official said. Tender awards have been issued against 187 projects. So far, 42 of these projects have been completed. The investment in these projects was estimated to be Rs 1810 crore, he said.
The scheme is being financed by both Central and state governments on a 50:50 ratio.
It was informed in the meeting that Odisha has climbed up to second position in the implementation of the projects as per National Level Rating Framework assessment up to August 21, 2018. The state has achieved it by scoring 53.19 in National Rating Framework whereas Andhra Pradesh is ranked first with a score of 54.11.
It is also learnt from the review that Odisha has qualified for the national incentive on achievement of reform milestones for 3 years consecutively from 2015 to 2018. In these three years, the state has received incentives to the tune of Rs 41.66 crore.
The Chief Secretary congratulated the department for achieving this incentive. He also stressed on utilising the amount in less time and better implementation of these projects.