Water is arguably the most important natural resource for

human development, economic growth and sustainability of

the environment. Access to clean water is the most basic need

for life and health and without it people cannot survive. Although water is used for many purposes, its most important

use is for drinking. Around the world, more and more need is

there to ensure water quality. The high volumes of usage has

surpassed the recharge capacity of the ground water and the

ground water table levels are falling at alarming rates. As

ground water level falls, the borewells are going dry & need to

be drilled deeper to cater the increased demand. With

increased demand of safe drinking water, rural habitations

often suffer from poor water quality. The major physio-

chemical pollutants include Arsenic, fluoride, iron, salinity &

nitrate with critical being arsenic & fluoride since they pose

immediate health hazards compared to others. Each day waterborne diseases cause death of over 4900

people, most of them are children under the age of five. Every

year 2.2 million people in India die from diseases associated

with lack of safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and

poor hygiene. Each day waterborne diseases cause death of

over 4900 people, most of them are children under the age of

five. Every year 2.2 million people in India die from diseases

associated with lack of safe drinking water, inadequate

sanitation and poor hygiene.To mitigate the problem of ground

water in the region, Punjab Government has taken initiative to

implement surface water based piped water supply schemes

in water quality affected habitations as a long term

sustainability solution. Department of Water Supply and

Sanitation has decided to shift drinking water source from

ground water to surface water and thereby, reducing the use

of contaminated ground water.It is planned to cover quality affected villages under Punjab

Rural Water & Sanitation Sector Improvement Project

(PRWSSIP)/ National Rural Drinking Water Programme in

districts Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Rupnagar (Nurpurbedi),

Gurdaspur and Amritsar where most of the villages are

affected by Uranium and other heavy metals. These district-wide

schemes will treat water from good surface sources like large

canals and deliver the treated water to the villages.

Department of Water Supply & Sanitation

Quarterly Newsletter

January 2019 to March 2019

New initiative in Punjab Rural Water Supply :From Ground water to Surface water

It is my great pleasure to extend heartfelt

greetings to the readers of the first issue of the

Newsletter of the quarter Jan, 2019 to

Mar,2019, Department of Water Supply &

Sanitation, Punjab. The Rural Water Supply

sector has now entered the fourth phase withmajor emphasis on ensuring sustainability of water

availability in terms of potability, adequacy, convenience,

affordability and equity while also adopting decentralized

approach involving PRI's and community organizations. In

order to supply safe water for drinking, many new schemes

were inaugurated during this period in 5 districts of rural

Punjab. Adequate flexibility is accorded to the States/UTs to

incorporate the principles of decentralized, demand driven,

area specific strategy is ensured for supply of safe drinking

water and sanitation services taking into account all aspects

associated with it. I sincerely hope and wish that the

department will serve the rural community in accessing

potable and safe drinking water and sanitation services in

the rural areas and run these schemes with the

decentralized based management of the scheme through

the PRIs.Sh. Amit Talwar,IAS, HoD, DWSS, Punjab

Message

Inauguration of Surface Water Supply Scheme by Hon'ble Capt. Amarinder Singh, CM Punjab;

Smt. Jaspreet Talwar Secretory, DWSS, Punjab with other dignitaries

thPunjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on 19 February,

2019, laid foundation stones for surface water projects and

a sewerage plant worth Rs 520 crores in the adjoining

districts of Patiala and Fatehgarh Sahib with an aim to

protect the depleting water table of the state to provide

clean drinking water and sanitation to its rural community.

40 villages,

covering 2 blocks

112 villages,

covering 4 blocks

48 villages,

covering 1 block

92 villages,

covering 2 blocks

316 villages,

covering 4 blocks

& 1 block of FGS

Under this project, 25 villages of Ghanaur assembly constituency, 62

villages of Rajpura assembly constituency, 23 villages of Sanour

assembly constituency and 2 villages of Fatehgarh Sahib assembly

constituency will be covered. Water treatment plant will be

constructed at village Pabra. The raw water will be taken from Kauli

distributary at village Pabra. At this treatment plant, daily 1.80 crore

liters of treated safe drinking water is supplied to 112 villages

covering 1.63 lakhs of population. The total cost of this project will be

Rs. 121.32 crores which includes Rs. 96.63 crore as capital cost and

Rs. 24.69 crores as Operation and Maintenance cost for 10 years. All

the existing over head service reservoirs of these villages will be

connected with the treatment plant which is proposed to be

constructed at village Pabra.

Under this project, 146 villages of Ghanaur assembly constituency,

12 villages of Rajpura assembly constituency and 46 villages of

Sanour assembly constituency will be covered. Punjab Goverment is

proposing to construct water treatment Plant at village Mandouli,

based on canal water. The raw water will be taken from Arnouli

distributary at village Mandouli. The total cost of this project is Rs.

241.18 crores which includes Rs. 191.35 crores as capital cost and

Rs. 49.83 crores as its operation and maintenance cost for 10 years.

Daily 3.50 crores liters of safe drinking water supply to 204 villages

will be given after treatment to a population of 3.65 lakhs. All the

existing over head service reservoirs of these villages will be

connected with the treatment plant which is proposed to be

constructed at village Mandouli.

Surface Water Supply Project for District Fatehgarh Sahib Covering 92 Villages

Costing 111.53 crores

Under the project, the sewage will be collected from 10

villagesstarting from Bahadurgarh onwards to Mehmadpur Jattan,

Shamaspur, Jalalpur, Nasirpur, Karheri, Deelwal, Noor Kherian,

Therri and Choura and will reach the sewerage treatment plant

proposed to be constructed at village Chaura near Bari Nadi. Chaura

Gram panchayat has provided 2.5 acres of land free of cost to the

department for this purpose. The treated effluent shall be used for

irrigation purposes. However, in no demand period it will be disposed

off into the Bari Patiala Nadi. A lateral sewerage line of 83.88 km line

will be laid under this project and the estimated cost of the project is

Rs. 45.21 crores. After the completion of this project, 5394

households with a population of 32361 of these 10 villages will get

eco-friendly sanitation facilities which will enhance the living

standards and improved sanitation services.

Chief Minister of Punjab Captain Amarinder Singh laid the foundation

stone of Surface Water Supply Schemes and other developments

projects on 4 March, 2019. The project will cost Rs. 154.15 Crores for

rural habitations of Amritsar district to tackle the problem of arsenic

in the ground water. At present, Department of Water Supply and

Sanitation Punjab provides potable drinking water to 883 villages of

district Amritsar through 607 tubewells and 137 handpumps based

supply. Out of 883 villages, ground water of 333 villages is affected

with arsenic. Long term consumption of arsenic contaminated water

poses great threat to health as it accelerates skin and liver diseases.

To mitigate the problem of ground water in this area, 1.5 lakhs of

population spread over 112 villages in four blocks Chogawan, Ajnala,

Harsha Chhina and Attari will be benefitted through large surface

water supply project costing Rs 154 crore with tapping point at

Chiwindan Kalan in block Chogawan on the Upper Bari Doab Canal

(UBDC). The project will be executed on design, build, operate and

transfer (DBOT) basis. Tenders have already been floated and

project is executed with financial assistance from World Bank.

To address the problem of presence of arsenic in ground water, the

Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone of an Arsenic

Removal Project for 102 villages of Amritsar district. Rs. 22 crores

have been managed from NITI Aayog after the successful

demonstration of a pilot project undertaken by the state government

in three villages, based on Nano-material technology

developed by IIT Chennai. Arsenic Removal Plants in 60 villages is

being commissioned and the remaining would be commissioned in

near future. Further, with the aim to counter the high prevalence of

contaminates like iron, arsenic and other heavy metals

ingroundwater, Captain Amarinder Singh also launched an ultra-

modern Water Testing Laboratory at Amritsar at a cost of Rs. 6

crores. The work for this project has already been awarded and it

would be functional by October 2019. This high-tech laboratory,

being set up with technical assistance from Bhabha Atomic

Research Centre, Mumbai, would cater to the districts of Amritsar,

Tarn Taran, Kapurthala, Gurdaspur and Pathankot. This would be the

second modern laboratory in the state, after SAS Nagar Mohali, to be

accredited by the National Board for Accreditation (NABL).

The chief Minister also laid foundation of Budha Theh Water Supply

and Sewerage scheme and 2.2 MLD capacity Sewage Treatment

Plant (STP) to treat domestic sewage for 3 villages namely Budha

theh, Abadi Beas and Abadi Guru Nanakpura in Beas region at a cost

of 15.57 crores. This project has also been approved from NABARD

and will be completed within a year.

Under this project 69 villages of Khera block and 23 villages of Bassi

Pathana will be covered with single tapping point at Rajpura

distributary near village

Nanowal, block Bassi

P a t h a n a . T h e Wa t e r

Treatment Plant (WTP)

l o c a t i o n h a v e b e e n

identified for proposed

tapping point, in the nearby

village nanowal. Cost of

Project is 111.53 crores,

including Operation &

Maintenance cost for 10

years approximately.

Surface Water Supply Project for District Patialacovering 204 villages costing Rs.241.18 crores

Captain Amarinder Singh, CM Punjab, Smt.Razia Sultana Minister of Water Suppply & Sanitation and Higher Education

alongwith others dignitaries during Inaugural Ceremony of surface water supply scheme at Amritsar

Surface Water Supply Project for District Patialacovering 112 villages costing Rs.121.32 crores

Sewerage Project for a cluster of 10 villages near Bahadurgarh Distt.Patiala worth Rs.45 crores

was also inaugurated

Surface Rural Water Supply & Sewage Projects forDistrict Amritsar covering 112 villages worth Rs.197.69 Cr.

Hon'ble Capt. Amarinder Singh, CM Punjab

felicitating Smt. Jaspreet Talwar Secretory, DWSS,

Punjab during the Inauguration function

Maninder Kaur had been inspiration in motivating other villagers

especially GPWSCs members for maintaining financial records.

She is working as cashier in village

Ghatour Dist. Mohali. She maintains all

the records with great accuracy and

fairness. She is acting as role model for

others. Due to her efforts, cashier/

GPWSC members of schemes from her

district and other district regularly meet

her to get exposure of account keeping.

Transparency in records has resulted in

financial sustainability of the scheme

having five lacs rupees in their saving

account. For her contribution, she was

felicitated by Additional Deputy

Commissioner (Development) Mohali.

Smt. Razia Sultana, Water Supply & Sanitation & Higher Education

Minister Punjab with other dignitaries during the inauguration ceremony

Captain Amarinder Singh Chief Minister of Punjab has further

announced that Water Supply and Sanitation department, Punjab

has proposed 3 more Surface Water Projects to Government of

India to cover 259 villages benefitting 2.48 lakh residents with

estimated cost of Rs. 385 crores. To revitalize 127 new/existing

water supply schemes with investment of Rs. 10.87 crores with

assistance from World Bank/NABARD benefitting 1.81 lakh

residents will also be implemented.

During the inauguration ceremony, Smt Razia Sultana Cabinet

Minister, Water Supply and Sanitation and Higher Education,

Punjab gave brief introduction of implementation of these projects.

She explained the villagers that drinking water would be supplied to

the people at a nominal charge of Rs 140 per month and appealed

the people for conserving water and using it judiciously

Since ages, women in India are confined in domestic life and they have been struggling hard to get out of traditional roles carved for them.

Rural women bear the biggest burnt of households responsibilities as they juggle between handling water, cooking, cleaning, child bearing,

looking after children and the family members with back breaking work in the farms and fields. To break this vicious cycle of domestic chores

and farm activities, it is essential to empower women. Women's labour always goes unheard, unpaid and unrecognized. Empowering women

includes access to education, access to health facilities and engagement in gainful economic activities. The whole array of activities will lead

to decision making at various levels and platforms. Empowerment is necessary for bringing gender equality. Women have equal potential as

men so it becomes imperative for bringing in gender equality at family and community level.

Department of Rural Water Supply and Sanitation on International Women's Day (IWD) felicitated grass root rural women champions who

have contributed in ensuring water and sanitation services to the community. This exercise helped in recognizing, acknowledging,

appreciating and admiring them for their unheard, unpaid and unseen efforts towards building an egalitarian society. Inspired by their hard

work, determination and skills, DWSS decided to share the stories of grass root women who are making remarkable differences in their

communities and inspiring others in the process. All of these women share one thing in common – a passionate and unwavering belief that

through their dedication, they can change things for the better thus ensuring their participation in the schemes as well as encouraging others to

be part of it.

“It has virtually lifted me off poverty. I love this freedom and today I can contribute to my family's income &

the education of my daughter.” - Ashro Devi

Water Supply & Sanitation Minister laysfoundation stone of Canal based

water supply scheme in Nurpur Bedi (Rupnagar)

Pump Operator - Ashro Devi

Smt.Razia Sultana, Water Supply & Sanitation and Higher Education

Minister, Punjab inaugurated the Canal based Water Supply project at

village Saskaur, Block Nurpur Bedi on 05 March, 2019 will cover 48

villages to provide potable safe drinking water to villagers. These

villages were having contaminated water with high iron content,

turbidity etc. As ground water sources are non sustainable, it was

necessary to shift to surface water schemes from available surface

water resources, thereby reducing use of contaminated ground water.In this context, proposal of bringing water from Water Treatment Plant,

Kiratpur Sahib as well as transporting this treated canal water to other

villages by installing various boosting stations. It was proposed to thcover these villages under 13 Finance Commission but due to paucity

thof funds under 13 Finance Commission, the scheme was

subsequently financed from PIDB/ National Rural Drinking Water

Programme. It has been proposed, a minimum 25 lakh litres of canal

treated water will be transported to village Saskaur for further

distribution to the water quality affected villages without incurring any

additional expenditure and utilizing the already constructed utilities.

Glimpses of inaugural ceremony at Amritsar

Ashro Devi, a widow is working as a women pump operator in village

Sukhsal Block Sri Anandpur Sahib in district Rupnagar since last six

years. She had taken non-traditional role of pump operator as a

livelihood opportunity to support her family. She monitors village for

water leakages and motivate villagers to conserve water. With her

efforts and support of community, village has achieved 10 hours

uninterrupted water supply. She is now economically independent

and contributes in her family income thus proving that she too can be

an equal partner in the process of change.

Cashier - Maninder Kaur

She is a motivating factor in inspiring villagers of village Chaidiala

district Mohali to construct toilets. She initiated door to door

campaigns and conducted focused group meetings to convince

villagers to actively participate in construction of their toilets by

themselves.

With her efforts, 79 beneficiaries

constructed bath cum toilet for sustainable

usage. As a swachhagrahi, Rita Rani

enthusiastically participated in Swach

Sunder Sauchalya contest, in which she not

only painted her toilet but also motivated

other households, especially women in her

village to paint their toilets to make the toilet

aesthetical ly pleasing to increase

ownership and instill a sense of pride among

beneficiaries. Her achievement is an example of how at the grass root

level, rural women champions are acting as a change agent to

mobilize the community

Prime Minister at

Village Pakho Ke in District Barnala was

facing difficulty in running the scheme.

GPWSC and pro-active women thought of

reviving their water supply scheme. During

a focused group discussion in the village,

GPWSC committee unanimously adopted

a resolution that responsibility of reviving,

restoration and management of water

supply scheme would be handed over

to women mohalla committee. Karamjeet Kaur along with women

members from each ward were taken to form women mohalla

committee for decision making and issues related to WASH.

Karamjeet Kaur with Manjeet Kaur and Sarabjeet had collectively put

great efforts in collecting the pending water charges through door to

door visits. They collected Rs. 90,000/- arrears within a month from

their village. The team also motivated the villagers to take new

connections. A key learning from this has been that collective action

with participatory planning yields better results. The collective efforts

made by women mohalla committee under dynamic leadership of

Kamaljeet Kaur resulted in better water services. Another important

observation was that one successful intervention translated into

desire for another. With better water services the community start

realizing the need for sanitation services in the village and started

demanding construction of toilets. The hard work of these women

resulted open defecation free status of the village and dawn to dusk

water supply within few months.

Varinder Kaur resident of village Shahpur, Block Kharar, Distt.

Mohali from last 2 year is working as pump operator. Various

registers are maintained by her like logbook, complaint register,

meter reading register, chlorination register. She takes prompt

action on rectifying leakages and motivates villagers to conserve

water. With her dedication in ensuring good services has resulted

in maintaining sustainable status of 24x7 water supply with

surplus amount of 5 lakhs in Operation

and Maintenance account. She is paid

Rs.6500/- per month by GPWSC.

Varinder kaur has now become an

empowered woman who is helping her

husband by earning extra income and

contributing in the family kitty. With her

income she has not only improved her life

but lives of her family members through

improved economic status.

Harinder Kaur resident of village Maal Chak, Block Khaddor sahib,

district Tarn Taran is a aganwari worker. She took keen interest in

SBM(G) by actively checking the hot spots to check the status of

open defecation. She encouraged community for constructing toilets

and especially bathroom cum toilet. She took active participation in

Sukhwinder Kaur Village Amla Singh Wala, Block

Mehal Kalan, Distt Barnala has contributed in

collecting the pending water charges of Rs.

92,000/- She supported the committee in

collecting the amount via door to door visits and

sensitized villagers to check water wastage. She played an

instrumental role in reviving the Gram Panchayat Water Supply and

Sanitation Committee to run the scheme independently and motivated

30 households to take new water connections. With her initiative,

Women Mohalla Committee was formed for coordinating

development works in her village and in achieving uninterrupted

water supply from morning till evening. The villagers especially women

benefitted from this uninterrupted water supply are very happy and

now can spare their valuable time in other constructive works.

Rita Rani is amongst 12 women sarpanches across the country who

was awarded by Hon'ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi at

Kurukshetra, Haryana Swachh Shakti 2019 programme for her

contribution towards Swachh Bharat mission (G).

My Vil lage My Pride

campaign' an initiative to make

SBM (G) a Jan Andolan fostering

community participation. Under this

campaign, she was the recipient of

cash award of Rs.5000/-as best

aganwari worker of the district Taran

taran. Paintings done by women/beneficiaries from the

community on the toilets constructed under SBM (G)

Sarpanch-Rita Rani

Natural Leader-Sukhwinder Kaur

Pump Operator-Varinder Kaur

Anganwari Worker-Harinder Kaur

Karamjeet Kaur-President, women mohalla committee

Editorial Board - Anshu Misra Ghosh, Chief Social Development Officer and Mamta Bakshi, IEC Specialist