JAIPUR: The state government will soon set up 30 reverse osmosis plants in the fluoride affected districts of the state. The treated water will be given at subsidized rates (10 paisa per liter) and the project is likely to start form March next year.

Speaking at a conference on ” Water Quality Management” here on Thursday, Purshottam Aggarwal, principal secretary (public health and engineering department), announced that the government’s pilot project is likely to start form Nagaur, Jaipur, Bhilwara, Tonk, Ajmer and Pali.

“We will launch this project which will provide pure drinking water at very economical rates. We will charge just 10 paisa per unit so that people do not waste water unnecessarily. The water will be as good as packaged drinking water,” Aggarwal said.

To embark upon a huge challenge of providing drinking water to seven crore population at 1,21131 habitation in the state, the government has targeted to spend Rs 10,000 crore in the next few years. Among the proposals, the government is considering to draw more water from Chambal River during monsoon. “We have witnessed that Chambal River overflows during the rainy season. So we would bring that surplus water for our consumption. Otherwise the withdrawal is restricted to a certain limit,” Aggarwal said. In a bid to provide drinking water to Udaipur district, the government will lift Mahi River water from the areas where there are no living populations. It also sets the target of shifting to surface water so that ground water could be left for recharging.

“Our aim is that 60-65% population of the state could get supply water through surface sources. Currently, we are drawing six litre of water from underground against one litre that goes inside,” Aggarwal added.