Rudrapur:
The Uttarakhand government plans to employ about 8,000 high school graduates under the “Har Ghar Nal Yojana” that aims to provide clean drinking water to households.
The state government had in August 2019 launched the scheme as part of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) which envisions providing safe and adequate drinking water through individual tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India.
The government intends to generate jobs through the scheme, and plans to reach 14,53,825 households in 14,960 villages in Uttarakhand by February 2024. So far, 12,31,464 households have received tap water connections.
Under this scheme, 7,783 12th pass youths will be employed as ‘Nal Jal Mitras’ in as many number of gram panchayats across the state, said Mridula Singh, executive engineer and nodal officer for JJM.
Each mitra will receive free 40-day training through ITI and will acquire skills in plumbing, fitting and electrical work to maintain water infrastructure in their villages. Singh said 375 gram panchayats in Udham Singh Nagar district alone will benefit from this initiative.
“These trained youths will also be responsible for billing and tap water supply, and will receive an honorarium for their services. A batch of 40 youths has already started training in Kashipur block,” Singh said.