Bhubaneswar: The composite water management index (CWMI) report released by Niti Aayog suggests that the state government is not doing well when it comes to water management and providing potable water to the customers in the state.
The CWMI report said five states reported a decline in their water management performances in the last three years out of which Odisha reported the largest decline at 7.27 points.
According to the report, the state’s rank dropped to 14 for financial year 2017-18 from 13 in 2016-17. In financial year 2015-16, Odisha was ranked in ninth place.
At the national level, 19 out of 24 states have shown improvement in their water management scores in the last three years out of which Haryana reported maximum progress, the report added.
The CWMI report further mentions that Odisha is among the few states such as Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Bihar that have reported that there are no villages that are being provided with 24×7 piped drinking water supply.
Opposition BJP, meanwhile, took the report to corner the ruling Biju Janata Dal government.
Odisha BJP secretary Lekhashree Samantasinghar said, “Only 3.5 per cent of the rural population in the state have access to clean drinking water and about 35 per cent people are forced to travel long distances to collect water in the state.”
Samantasinghar further added that about 80 per cent of the total population is still dependent on groundwater in the state while piped water supply is available to only 14 per cent of people in Bhubaneswar.