Chhattisgarh government has decided to make use of solar energy to help people in 1,722 remote settlements in ten tribal-dominated districts in the state for water supply.

State Chief Secretary Sunil Kumar, during a meeting of the state Water and Cleanliness Mission held yesterday, has directed the concerned officials to undertake solar energy projects in these villages as early as possible.

The villages that do not have access to pure drinking water or where ‘Nal Jal’, a water management scheme is not in operation, will benefit under this plan, Secretary of the Public Health Engineering Department R S Vishwakarma said in the meeting.

Remote settlements in the deep forest areas of the state, which are grappling with issues like lack of electricity and connectivity, would soon have access to piped drinking water with the help of solar power-based motorised water pumps, official sources said.

Some of the settlements are located in the naxal-infested region, they said adding solar energy would be utilised for installing systems which can pump water to overhead tanks, from where it can be relayed through pipes into the houses of the villagers.

Nearly 339 remote settlements in naxal-hit Bastar district will get this facility, while other districts which will be benefited under the plan are Kanker (315), Jashpur (298), Dantewada (105), Koriya (179), Bijapur (60), Kawardha (77), Narayanpur (54), Rajnandgaon (142) and Sarguja (153).

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