LUCKNOW: The State Water and Sanitation Mission (SWSM) has intensified preparations to ensure uninterrupted water supply in rural areas during the summer months.
Anurag Srivastava, Additional Chief Secretary of the Namami Gange and Rural Water Supply Department, held a virtual departmental review meet on Wednesday during which he made it clear to engineers and agencies working on the field, that piped water supply should not be disrupted during summers under any circumstances.
The review meet at the SWSM headquarters in Lucknow was meant to ensure better water supply during summers.
During the review, Srivastava said accountability would be fixed and disciplinary action initiated against engineers and agencies if complaints of disrupted water supply or water being supplied through tankers were received.
The Bundelkhand and Vindhya regions face water scarcity during summer. To address this problem, the Namami Gange and Rural Water Supply Department has instructed all engineers and agencies to plan well in advance about ensuring uninterrupted rural water supply during the scorching summer months.
During the virtual meet, Srivastava made it clear to Additional District Magistrates (ADMs) and engineers of the Namami Gange department, that in case of reports of disrupted water supply, accountability would be fixed and engineers and agencies who are held responsible for the lapse and would have to face the music.
He also said that disciplinary action could also be initiated against erring Chief Engineers and demanded a comprehensive report from all (engineers and agencies) on water supply during the summer months.
He instructed officials to visit villages and assess the ground reality of water supply.

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Srivastava directed the Executive Director of the State Drinking Water and Sanitation Mission to withhold payment to agencies whose pace of working left much to be desired. He also asked the ED to prepare list of such executive engineers who were not monitoring work regularly and said that the same list be sent to the government.