Explained: What is Bihar’s Har Ghar Gangajal scheme?

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday (27 November) launched Gangajal aapurti yojana which aims to provide the water of the holy river on taps in arid regions of the state. Kumar, who inaugurated the Rs 4,000-crore ‘Har Ghar Gangajal’ scheme at Rajgir in Nalanda district, also listed his government’s work for religious sites of all religions: Hindus, Muslims, Jains and Buddhists. Under this Ganga Water Supply Scheme (GWSS), around 7.5-lakh households of Rajgir, Gaya and Bodhgaya will get treated water of the river through pipes from 28 November. “As part of the project, floodwaters of River Ganga will be stored, treated, and supplied to Rajgir, Gaya, and Bodh Gaya, which register high tourist footfall,” the Bihar chief minister said, as per news agency PTI. “GWSS will meet the demand for drinking water in these areas by supplying treated water. Now, people can confidently say that the state government is facilitating the supply of sacred Ganga water to their homes. I can also confidently say that I have done something for the region,” he added. Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav credited the “visionary chief minister” for the launch of the first phase of the project. “It was no mean task to provide treated water to these areas. It all happened because of the initiatives taken by the chief minister. The Mahagathbandhan government in the state will continue to initiate several welfare measures for the people of the state under the leadership of our visionary chief minister,” Yadav was quoted as saying by the news agency.

आज राजगीर में मा० मुख्यमंत्री जी ने राजगीर गंगा जल आपूर्ति योजना का लोकार्पण किया।

इस योजना के तहत बाढ़ के समय गंगा नदी में अत्यधिक पानी को स्टोर कर, फिर उसे ट्रीट कर फिलहाल पाइप के जरिए राजगीर, बोधगया और गया और नवादा शहर में जल आपूर्ति की जाएगी। pic.twitter.com/aIsTVGzHiH

— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) November 27, 2022

What is the Har Ghar Gangajal scheme and why was it needed? We explain. What is Har Ghar Gangajal project? Under the Har Ghar Gangajal project, the excess water of the Ganga will be stored in a reservoir which would then be treated and supplied to Rajgir, Gaya and Bodh Gaya, the regions that have witnessed water scarcity for a long period.

In the second phase of the project, which is expected to be launched next year, piped Ganga water will reach Nawada.

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Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (MEIL), responsible for implementing the scheme, has called it a “first-of-its-kind project” in India. “The initiative has two objectives. First, it conserves floodwater, preventing wastage, and second, it transforms this precious resource into safe, drinkable water,” a statement by the company was cited by PTI.  The Bihar chief minister said that the scheme will supply 135 litres of treated Ganga water every day for every family in these three areas. “Irrigation requirements too will be fulfilled as the water level of these districts will improve due to storage of Ganga water in huge capacity”, Kumar was quoted as saying by The Hindu. As per Indian Express report, the floodwaters will travel 150 km via pipes from Hathidah near Mokama and reach households through the new and existing connections. Before being supplied to the public, the water will be treated in treatment-and-purification plants, the report added. [caption id=“attachment_11711741” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The second phase of the Har Ghar Gangajal scheme is expected to be launched next year. PTI[/caption] This pipeline network will use a railway overbridge and four bridges, the report added. Bihar water resources minister Sanjay Kumar Jha said water would be lifted through pumps at Hathidah and carried through the pipeline to three reservoirs located in Rajgir, Tetar, and Gaya. Why was the Har Ghar Gangajal scheme needed? Envisaged as part of the Bihar government’s Jal, Jeevan, Hariyali scheme, the GWSS has been introduced to tackle the water woes of the region which depends on tankers for drinking water during the summer months. Jha said on Sunday that the south Bihar cities of Rajgir, Gaya, and Bodh Gaya have been “experiencing water shortage due to excessive groundwater extraction via borewells,” Hindustan Times reported. The water table has depleted in Gaya and Rajgir over several years owing to ‘unplanned and indiscriminate’ use of groundwater, as per Indian Express. Citing a study by the Bihar Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), Indian Express said that Gaya district saw a decline in average groundwater level from 30.30 feet in July 2021 to 41.50 feet in July 2022. A short-term solution to address the water issue undertaken by the Nalanda and Gaya district administrations has been to provide tankers for drinking water in towns.

With the Har Ghar Gangajal project, Bihar intends to solve two problems.

Besides assuaging the water problem, the state government expects that the new project will help in reducing the effects of flooding along the banks of the river during monsoon season, as per Indian Express report. The report said that the government has promised that the Ganga water would be lifted during the monsoon months when flooding swells the river. The project would not disturb the natural flow of the river or deplete its water, Indian Express further stated. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.