RAJIV GANDHI DRINKING WATER SUPPLY PROJECT, MEWAT, HARYANA – A RAY OF HOPE FOR THIS PARCHED LAND.

LEG-II INAUGURATED BY CONGRESS PRESIDENT SMT. SONIA GANDHI ON 1ST MARCH, 2009.

Mewat belt in District Mewat of Haryana has a total of 503 villages. For over five decades, this is a parched belt with severe-most drinking water problem. To supply water in these villages has been a challenging task since inception of Haryana on Ist November, 1966.

Womenfolk of Mewat still walk upto 10 KMs for one pitcher of water. During summer months, a pitcher of water could still cost upto Rs.25/- in this parched land of Mewat. Successive governments promised the moon but delivered nothing.

Gandhi-Nehru family have a traditional affinity to people of Mewat. Be it Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru’s interest in development of Mewat to post-partition visit of Mahatama Gandhi at Village Ghasera, Mewat or the modern day success stories.

To address this gigantic issue of scarcity of drinking water in these 503 villages of District Mewat, Congress government in Haryana drafted ‘Rajiv Gandhi Drinking Water Supply Project, Mewat’ costing Rs.425 crore for a projected population upto the year 2034. Work on the project commenced in April, 2005. First phase of the Project (Rs.205.91 crore) will be completed in two legs i.e. Leg-1 (110 villages – September, 2010-awaiting formal inauguration although running) and Leg-2 (148 villages – completed and inaugurated on 1st March, 2009).

Salient features of the Project (Phase-I) are:-

Total Cost	Rs.205.91 crore
No. of villages to be benefited	503 Nos.
Population to be covered	Year 2004 2019	Population 10,21,719 15,82,874
Target Service Level	55 liters per capita per day for the population of year 2019.
Source	Ranney Wells near river Yamuna bed and tubewells near Aravali Foothills.
Target date of completion	(a) Ranney Well Segment : 258 villages * Leg-II covering 148 villages : Completed and inaugurated on 1st March, 2009 * Leg-I covering 110 villages : 30-09-2010 (b) Tube-well Segment 245 villages - 30-09-2010
Total expenditure upto September 2010	Rs.205.91 crore
Overall progress upto 30-09-2010	Leg-2. Completed and inaugurated on 1st March, 2009 Leg-1 Completed by 30-09-2010 Tube-well Segment – Completed by 30-09-2010

Leg-II of the Project referred to above, involved laying of 410 KMs of water pipeline. It also involved Ranney well pumping out 1.00 crore liters of water per day and 12 tubewells pumping out 1.08 crores liters of water per day. Thus, a total of 2.08 crore liters of water is being pumped out every day. It also involves construction of two main boosting stations of 40 lakh liters each, besides many subsidiary boosting stations.

Leg-II involved carrying of water to a distance of 125 Kms. or beyond to satisfy the thrust of the parched belt of Mewat. It is a fine example of fulfilment of promise in public domain by Indian National Congress.

Hon'ble Congress President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi was pleased to inaugurate Leg-II of Phase 1 of the Project covering 148 villages on 1st March, 2009 in presence of Haryana Chief Minister, Shri Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Minister for Public Health Engineering, Shri Randeep Singh Surjewala. This Project would, indeed, change the health standards and life of this entire Mewat region lying parched for a century.

Presently , Phase II of the Project for augmenting water allowance from 55 lpcd to 70 lpcd into 58 villages of rainy well segment is in progress at a cost of rupees 94.58 crorers.

Following are the photographs of the function held at Mewat on 1st March, 2009 at the time of inauguration of Leg II of Phase 1 of the Project.