Access to clean drinking water was the right of every citizen of the country and it was duty of the government to ensure its provision; moreover, before 2007 general elections all the commitments made by this government would be fulfilled.
Punjab Public Health Engineering Minister Mushtaq Ahmed Kiani expressed these views in a seminar on 'Community based water supply and sanitation,' which was organised by PCWSS here on Monday.
He said that for the provision of clean drinking water, the government started the Punjab Clean Water Supply and Sanitation (PCWSS) project with the backing of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 2003. "Under the project, 750 schemes that were focusing on the provision of clean water and sanitation in the province at the cost of Rs 4.5 billion, which would completed by next July," he added.
According to him, out of the 750 schemes, 500 were new, started by the present government, and while 250 were those that were sitting idle; moreover, till now 300 schemes have been handed over to the local communities after a successful run. Moreover, active participation of local communities in running the schemes is the focal point of the project.
He disclosed that they were planning to launch the third phase of the project and talks with ADB in this connection were in progress. He praised the Punjab government was prioritising drinking water; seriousness of the government on the subject could be gauged from the fact it provided additional Rs 90 million to PCWSS, since it has utilised its budget. Under the present government, water related schemes have been completed, he added.
Salman Ghani, Chairman of Planning and Development Board Punjab, stressed upon the active participation of local communities in development projects. He said that the very sense of ownership was the key to the success of such schemes. He further said that in the past such projects had failed due to lack of local communities participation. Raza Farrukh Chaudhry of ADB, Khalid Sultan, Punjab HUD&PHED Secretary, and Zahid Hussain Ch, Project Director, also addressed the seminar.