60% Of Villages In Odisha Yet To Get Piped Water Supply, Says Minister

Bhubaneswar: Around 60% of villages in Odisha are yet to get piped water supply, said Minister of Panchayatiraj and Drinking Water Pradip Kumar Amat on Tuesday.

In a written reply to a question by Congress MLA Narasingha Mishra, the minister said piped water connections have been provided to 19,131 of the total 47,274 villages in the state till September 22. The rest 28,143 villages, which account for 60% of the total villages, do not have pipe water connections.

However, Amat said work is underway to provide tap water supply to the remaining villages.

Furnishing district-wise figure, he said Mayurbhanj district has the highest number of 2,727 villages which do not have tap water connections. Of 3,720 villages in the tribal dominated district, the water supply through pipes has been provided to 993 villages so far.

Similarly, 100 out of 2,367 villages in Kandhamal have been provided piped water supply, he added.

The minister said the government has spent Rs 23,286 crore towards providing the drinking water facility in the last 10 years from 2013-14 to 2022-23.