Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has demanded that the Centre contribute its full share of funds for water drinking projects in desert areas and 90 per cent in other parts of the state under the Jal Jeevan Mission.
Gehlot has written a letter to Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to raise the demand.
He also asked Shekhawat to release funds in two half-yearly instalments under the Jal Jeevan Mission instead of four quarterly instalments so that the work in the districts can be done at an uninterrupted pace.
In the letter, Gehlot mentioned that the total cost of 60 major drinking water projects sanctioned with central assistance was Rs 20,529 crore. The Centre's share was Rs 10,548 crore and that of the state was Rs 9,981 crore.
However, he said, only Rs 5,474 crore was given by the central government for the implementation of these projects until the financial year 2018-19, while the state government spent Rs 8.764 crore during the period.
Similarly, under the National Rural Drinking Water Program, the allocation in the year 2014-15 was Rs 1304.64 crore, whereas only Rs 550.82 crore was allocated in the year 2018-19.
The chief minister said efforts are being made to supply 55 litres per person per day drinking water to more and more rural families across the state, but due to adverse geographical conditions and other reasons, this is a challenging task.
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