The State government on Monday again sought financial assistance from the Central government for Mission Bhagiratha, flagship programme aimed at supplying drinking water to every household in the State. The State wanted the Centre to bear at least 50 per cent of the expenditure incurred on Mission Bhagiratha amounting to Rs 45,028 crore and also entire annual operational expenditure of Rs 2,110 crore.
In a representation to Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat during a conference on Jal Jeevan Mission in New Delhi, Panchayat Raj and Rural Water Supply Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao along with MPs Nama Nageshwar Rao and Banda Prakash Mudiraj sought the Central government’s support for Mission Bhagiratha which meets all pre-requisites for Jal Jeevan Mission of the Centre.
Minister Dayakar Rao said Telangana government and Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao were way ahead in implementation of the drinking water project for every household in the State when compared to other States and even the Central government. “While Jal Jeevan Mission is aimed to be completed by 2024, Mission Bhagiratha will achieve its objective by March 2021 itself. Mission Bhagiratha has become a role model for the entire country,” he said, adding that the initiative would fulfil the objectives of Jal Jeevan Mission at least three years ahead of others.
 
The Minister asserted that the States which took pro-active steps in achieving Jal Jeevan Mission goal, must be incentivised duly by providing necessary financial assistance. He explained that Mission Bhagiratha was being implemented on a mission mode with specific drive to benefit rural women with the State government already allocating required water from irrigation reservoirs to supply drinking water on sustainable basis in all seasons through functional household tap connection.
About 80 per cent of total Rs 45,028 crore spent for the scheme, was obtained through loans from NABARD, HUDCO and commercial banks. Though the State government had been repeatedly taking up the issue with the Centre, there had been no response from the Central government authorities in this regard.