Introduction of drinking water to remaining Mahadalit Tolas in next three months: Bihar Govt

Representative file image. | Photo credit: K. Murali Kumar

Bihar Public Health Department (PHED) Minister Sanjay Kumar Singh on Wednesday (May 27, 2026) said the facility to provide drinking water in all remaining Mahadalit Tolas (villages) will be completed within three months under the ‘Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal Yojana’.

“Our aim is to supply piped drinking water to Mahadalit Tolas. Our aim is to complete the piped drinking water installation within three months,” Mr Singh told reporters during a press meet in Patna, accompanied by the ministry’s Principal Secretary Rajesh Kumar, Chief Engineer Nityanand Prasad and Chief Engineer Abhay Kumar Singh.

To provide safe drinking water to families in rural areas, the state government launched the ‘Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal Yojana’ in 2016. Mr. Singh said that the department is currently providing piped drinking water to more than 93% of the families.

A total of 2.66 million families were getting piped drinking water in 2016, which would increase to 1.87 million families in 2026, the minister said, while asserting that the ministry has set a target of providing piped drinking water to 2.02 million families in rural areas of the state.

The ministry, which is primarily responsible for providing safe drinking water to rural areas, supplies drinking water to 1,14,450 parts of rural areas, he said, assuring the people of the state that the government would ensure proper and sufficient supply of drinking water to everyone, even during the peak summer season.

Claiming that the state witnessed a significant improvement in the water table between 2019 and 2026, Mr. Singh said the number of Panchayats whose water table was below 50 feet (very serious category) fell to 19 in 2026 from 138 in 2019, a decline of 66 per cent.

Similarly, the number of Panchayats falling under the severe category with a water table depth of 40-50 feet decreased to 186 from 468, Panchayats in the medium category with a water table depth of 30-40 feet decreased to 1,158 from 1,270, the number of Panchayats with a water table depth of 20-30 feet decreased from 25 to 290 feet, while the number decreased from 25 to 290 stops. Panchayats with a water level of 20 feet, considered the best category, increased to 4,222 in 2026 from 3,981 in 2019, the minister said.

The Ministry has set up a Centralized Grievance Redressal Cell (CGRC) where people can file, monitor and track the status of their grievances. Of the 1.54 million complaints received at the CGRC between August 2025 and May 2026, 1.46 million complaints were resolved, the minister said.

The department has taken special measures to cope with the problem of severe heat conditions and possible water crisis, Mr. Singh said, adding that 475 tankers, 15 ‘Jaldoots’ and 15 water ATMs have been made available in the critically affected areas of the state.

He added that the ministry’s team is also working to repair 86,000 hand pumps and is engaged in installing about 1,000 hand pumps in the drought-prone districts of South Bihar in the current fiscal year.

Published – 28 May 2026 01:23 IST