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Villagers in Saharsa and Purnea buy potable water despite govt’s ‘Har Ghar Jal Yojana’
Residents in Bihar's Mahishi village claim piped water is unsafe, forcing them to buy bottled water despite the government's clean water initiative.
As an example of the ills plaguing a government department, the rural populace has been forced to pay for drinking water despite the Bihar government’s claim of providing safe and clean piped drinking water to every household under the Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal (HGNJ) scheme, part of chief minister Nitish Kumar’s ambitious Seven Resolves programme.
Residents of Mahishi village in Saharsa district alleged that the piped water supplied to their homes is unfit for consumption, forcing them to depend on bottled or canned water.
“Even doctors advise us not to drink the piped water. As a result, we spend between ₹600 and ₹1,000 per month on bottled water, depending on the size of the family,” said Pratibha Choudhary, a resident. “The scheme is well-intentioned but badly executed,” she added.
Echoing similar concerns, social activist and RTI activist Amit Anand said the piped water supply under the HGNJ scheme in the village was “pathetic”.
“Ironically, villagers are paying for potable water while the government claims to be spending heavily to supply clean water,” Anand said, stressing the need to overhaul the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED).
Commenting on the functioning of the PHED, Anand alleged that while officials visit villages following complaints, there is little effort to resolve the issues. Citing the prolonged struggle of septuagenarian Rajendra Jha, founder secretary of Kosi Seva Sadan, Anand said PHED engineers have been visiting the premises for years but the grievances remain unaddressed. “The officials come, listen and then disappear,” he alleged.
Another resident, Priti Pathak, questioned the justification of the scheme when villagers hesitate to consume piped water. “Doctors prohibit us from drinking piped water, forcing us to buy it from nearby plants,” she said, adding that arsenic and iron contamination in hand-pump water has already posed serious health risks in the region. Similar complaints have been reported from Chainpur, Bangaon and several other villages in Saharsa district.
Anand expressed hope that the new government would take strict note of the alleged irregularities in the PHED and initiate action against corrupt officials who, he claimed, have discredited the department since the scheme’s launch.
Meanwhile, Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar on Monday chaired a review meeting of the ongoing Jal Jeevan Haryali campaign and directed PHED officials to ensure the supply of clean drinking water to every household. He instructed them to resolve all grievances by the second week of January next year.
Executive engineer of the PHED’s Saharsa division, Sanyog Kumar, could not be contacted for comment despite repeated attempts.
Similar issues have been reported from parts of Purnea district. Residents of Babhani village under Dagarua block said they use piped water only for irrigating plants due to its poor quality. “We buy bottled drinking water from nearby markets,” said Anmol Kumar, a shopkeeper from Japharpur village.
In many villages, families continue to rely on hand-pump water. “Our hand-pump water is better than the piped supply,” villagers claimed.
However, executive engineer of PHED’s Purnea division Vipul Nandan told HT that while complaints related to broken pipes, taps and leakages were frequent, they were being addressed. On the issue of water quality, he maintained that piped water was “pure and better than hand-pump water,” though he conceded that greater public awareness about the scheme was required.
Launched in 2015, the HGNJ scheme—part of the Seven Resolves programme—aims to provide safe piped drinking water to every rural household. However, it has faced significant implementation challenges and public dissatisfaction.
In the 2024–25 budget, the Bihar government allocated ₹1,295 crore for ensuring clean drinking water. According to a study by the Development Management Institute (DMI) released in April this year, around 94% of households in Bihar have received tap water connections.
