india

Updated: Dec 26, 2019 09:09 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday dedicated to the nation the world’s longest mountain tunnel and launched a groundwater conservation mission, both named after Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on the latter’s 95th birth anniversary.

The Atal tunnel, an underground passage of strategic importance beneath Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh, cuts the road distance between Leh in the Union territory of Ladakh and Himachal’s Manali by 46 hours and reduces travel time between Leh and Manali by five hours. It will increase the country’s all-weather access to Leh, Ladakh, Kargil and other remote parts of Jammu Kashmir.

“This is a gift to the people of Himachal Pradesh on the occasion of Vajpayee-ji’s birthday. The Atal tunnel is a national tunnel of great importance both from the point of view of tourism and national security,” said the prime minister, who made the announcements at an event in the capital’s Vigyan Bhawan.

The decision to construct a strategic tunnel below Rohtang Pass was taken on June 3, 2000 when Vajpayee was the prime minister. The 8.8-km-long tunnel is the world’s longest, and located above an altitude of 3,000 metres took over 19 years to complete. The tunnel will facilitate quicker movement of material and manpower across destination in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Atal Bhujal Yojana, which will be known by its shorthand Atal Jal, which Modi also announced, is a centrally sponsored project to improve groundwater levels in seven critically water-depleted states. These are Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. “The Atal Jal Yojana is an important step in the direction of fulfilling the Jal Jeevan mission of water for all by 2024,” Modi said.

Modi urged citizens to be judicious in the use of water, a scarcity of which in many states has reached crisis proportions. The government has identified 1,592 blocks in 256 districts that face a menacing water shortage.

The water crisis is “worrying for us as a family, as a citizen and as a country; also it affects development. New India has to prepare us to deal with every situation of water crisis,” Modi said.

The prime minister mandated the Jal Shakti (water power) ministry to sharpen its focus on water conservation. The Jal Jeevan mission is aimed at providing piped drinking water to 19.5% of rural households during 2019-20 and cover all households by 2024.

“By establishing the Jal Shakti ministry, we have taken out water from compartmentalised approach and put it on a consolidated approach. Water was also very close to Atal-ji’s heart,” the prime minister said.

Modi’s speech was webcast across 8,350 gram panchayats, or village-level administrative units, in 78 districts across the seven states where the Atal Bhujal Yojana will be implemented.

Modi called for speeding up better water management practices with a focus on conservation. “Much will depend on how the scheme is implemented because the piped drinking water mission has been trailing targets set by the Centre,” said Madhukar Jaiveer Singh, Jal Adhikar Andolan, a Jaipur-based NGO.

In 2018-19, just 18.2% of rural households had access to piped water supply under the National Rural Drinking Water Mission (NRWDM), the predecessor to the Jal Jeevan mission. This is way short of the target of covering at least 35% rural households.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh and Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhwat were also present at the event.

The Atal Bhujal Yojana, which was approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday, has an outlay of ~6,000 crore to be implemented over a period of five years (2020-21 to 2024-25). “Out of the total outlay, 50% shall be in the form of World Bank loan, and be repaid by the Centre. The remaining 50% shall be through Central Assistance from budgetary support. The World Bank’s loan component and Central Assistance shall be passed on to States as Grants,” an official statement said.