Badal seeks support from World Bank for water supply projects

In a bid to ensure quality drinking water supply in urban areas, Punjab government today envisaged World Bank's technical support and guidance for execution of its ambitious programme to provide round-the-clock safe potable water to Ludhiana and Amritsar.
Raising the issue with the visiting World Bank (WB) team led by its Operation Adviser, Country Management Unit-India, Michael Haney, Badal urged him to help the state in ensuring quality drinking water across the state.
Michael was accompanied by senior WB's Water and Sanitation Specialist and Task Team leader of the WB-aided Punjab Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project, Srinivasa Rao Podipireddy, an official spokesman said.

Michael urged the Chief Minister to send a comprehensive proposal seeking non-lending technical assistance from WB to the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, for water supply projects in Ludhiana and Amritsar.
The Chief Minister asked the WB team to replicate the surface based water supply scheme in the cities of Jalandhar, Patiala, Bathinda, Moga, Pathankot, Mohali and Phagwara to ensure uninterrupted supply of safe drinking water.
Badal reiterated that surface based water supply has become important and significant in view of poor quality of ground water coupled with its depleting level.
Badal also envisaged technical support from WB for rejuvenation of canal network, as canals were presently running 25 to 30 per cent below their normal capacity.

Michael told the Chief Minister that a WB technical team would soon visit Punjab to study the issues in urban drinking water supply in unison with senior officers of Water Supply and Sanitation and Irrigation departments.