Bhubaneswar, 10 March (H.S.) A heated exchange was witnessed between BJD and BJP legislators in the Odisha Assembly on Tuesday during Question Hour over the issue of drinking water. The situation, however, was brought under control after the intervention of the Speaker.

The confrontation occurred when Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Minister Rabi Narayan Naik was responding to questions related to the drinking water supply in the state.

During his reply, the minister stated that while the previous government had installed around 26,000 tube wells in the last 24 years, the present BJP government has installed 26,000 tube wells within just one year. Following this statement, BJD legislators stood up in protest, leading to a brief uproar in the House.

During the discussion, several legislators expressed concern over the availability of safe drinking water in the state and questioned the government about the timeline for providing drinking water to every household.

Responding to the queries, Minister Rabi Narayan Naik said the government has set a target to supply drinking water to all households by March 2027. He added that the government aims to complete 207 mega drinking water projects to achieve this goal.

The minister informed the House that as of March 5, drinking water has been supplied to 68,47,752 families, which accounts for about 77 percent of households in the state. So far, 26 mega projects have been completed, and another 28 projects are expected to be finished by March.

He further stated that out of 44,531 villages in the state, drinking water projects have become operational in 11,777 villages.

Criticising the previous government, the minister alleged that the pace of work was slow earlier and that due to flaws in the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) prepared by the previous administration, the work on 18 intake wells had to be relocated.

According to the minister, there are currently 5,27,694 tube wells across the state. Responding to a supplementary question by MLA Durga Prasanna Nayak, he said that the present BJP government has installed more tube wells than what was done during the previous government’s 24-year tenure.

The remark triggered strong protests from BJD members, while BJP legislators also responded, leading to a brief commotion in the Assembly before the Speaker intervened and restored order.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda