Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today directed authorities concerned to constitute district-level Special Task Force and appoint an officer from Power Department to check wastage of water in rural and urban areas.
Presiding over a meeting of Water Supply and Sewerage Board here, he ordered officials to take strict against those involved in pilferage of water by using submersible water pumps in rural areas through unauthorised connections.
He said people will be encouraged to opt for metered connections and in case they continue with unauthorised connections, an FIR would be registered against them.
In the meeting, the Board approved funds of Rs 811.40 crore for urban areas and Rs 503.20 crore for rural areas for various water supply and sewerage schemes for the year 2016-17, an official spokesperson said.
In addition, a sum of Rs 15 crore received under Mahatma Gandhi Grameen Basti Yojna (MGGBY) was allocated to 217 ongoing schemes.
While emphasising on the need to create awareness among people to save water, Khattar directed officers to launch a mass awareness campaign to enlighten people to conserve water.
He said banners, posters and stickers with message of 'Save Water' should be put up in public places.
The Chief Minister also took note of complaints regarding use of sub-standard water pipelines in Jind and directed the officers to strictly adhere to the quality norms while laying the pipelines.
He asked the department to ensure that payments are made online and the process is time bound.
While reviewing progress of various schemes, Khattar directed to make optimum utilization of funds received from NABARD and National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB).
