Bhubaneswar: Observing the improving living standards in the state the Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) department of Odisha has been selected for HUDCO Award for Best Practices to Improve the Living Environment for the year 2018-19.
Awarded annually the HUDCO award for best practices is given annually under seven themes or categories. The award winners receive an amount of Rs 1 lakh along with a trophy and commemorative certificate.
The department’s ‘Universal Coverage of Urban Piped Water Supply’ has been selected as one of the award winning best practice in the said category. Another award in the same category has been bagged for the best practice ‘PMAY-LIFE House Construction through Woman Construction Group’ by Kudumbashree-State Poverty Eradication Mission.
“In 2017 the state government proposed to take up 545 new projects at a cost of Rs 588.04 crore. It had also allocated Rs 160 crore to complete all the incomplete urban water supply projects. The award is a result of our concerned efforts to make water accessible in every urban area,” said a senior official at HUDD.
According to official data, the urban population required about 1,000 million litres of water per day while the state was able to supply 877 MLD water through piped water supply projects. The government has targeted to achieve the universal coverage of water supply by 2020.