Darbhanga: The Bihar government has taken a strong step to speed up water supply projects in Darbhanga division so that every household can get clean drinking water. A high-level review meeting was held at the state headquarters under the chairmanship of Pankaj Kumar Pal, secretary of the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED). Senior officers, engineers and contractors from the Darbhanga region were present. The focus of the meeting was to check the progress of ongoing and pending works under the Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal scheme, which aims to provide tap water to every home.
During the review, special attention was given to areas where work has not yet started because of land-related problems. The secretary clearly said that no water project should stop due to the non-availability of land. He instructed executive engineers to immediately coordinate with the district administration and obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC) wherever land is required. Once permission is granted, the site must be handed over to the contractor without delay. The government will now monitor such cases every day at both district and state levels.
The secretary also stressed that public complaints related to water supply must be solved within a fixed time. As per the Operation and Maintenance policy, if any repair or work is delayed for more than three days, strict action will be taken against the concerned contractor. To improve communication and transparency, all contractors have been directed to use the department’s Contractor Grievance Portal, where they can report their progress, land issues or any technical problems directly to the department.
To strengthen the system further, contractors have been told to open inventory stores in every block so that repair materials are easily available. They must also increase the number of repair teams wherever required. All work details, team information and progress reports must be uploaded on the MIS portal and monitored through GIS mapping. Random checks will be carried out from the headquarters to ensure accuracy. Officials warned that if any negligence is found, strict action will be taken against both the contractor and the concerned engineer.
The meeting was attended by special secretary Sanjeev Kumar, engineer-in-chief-cum-special secretary Nityanand Prasad, senior officer Abhay Kumar, along with other departmental officials and contractors. The government said these steps will help ensure that clean drinking water reaches every home in Darbhanga on time and without unnecessary delays.
