Animals dying due to plastic; govt serious about it: Jal Shakti MoS

Union minister Rattan Lal Kataria on Thursday said lakhs of animals are dying due to plastic and government has taken a serious te of it.

He said entire country will become open defecation-free by October 2, birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to launch a nationwide campaign against single-use plastic on occasion.  

"I was with prime minister in Mathura on Wednesday. Lakhs of animals are dying re due to plastic. government has taken a serious te of it and steps will be taken in that direction," he said on sidelines of an event. 

prime minister, who is leading efforts to scrap single-use plastic by 2022, is likely to anunce a ban on a few items on October 2.

Modi, in his Independence Day speech, had urged people to avoid using plastic bags, and technicians and entrepreneurs to look at invative ways to recycle plastic.

Kataria, Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti, said before Modi government launched Swachh Bharat Mission "maybe I was also t that aware" about need of cleanliness.  

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"Maybe, sometimes even I also throw pieces of paper around in my house. But this campaign has made people aware. When an MLA kwn to me was having a banana inside his car, his granddaughter told him t to throw peel on road, saying 'Modi dekh raha hai'," he said.

government is w committed to providing piped water to 17 crore families across country by 2024, minister said. 

"At present, only 3.5 crore households have piped water supply. We are working on a mission mode...I have also met people who have started saving water on shaving," he said.

Kataria also said government will create 1.11 crore water harvesting points across country to store rainwater.  

"We have sent teams of scientists to aspirational districts and identified 1,500 blocks where groundwater table has depleted. We have sent joint secretary-level officers to 'semi critical' districts. y are soon going to submit ir reports and accordingly, future course of action will be decided," he said. 

Asked about use solar pumps in agriculture leading to a fear of groundwater exploitation, minister said, "We want that before going ahead with solar pump schemes, government should consult our department."

On river-interlinking project, he said government has identified 30 rivers and received all feasibility reports.

"Detailed project reports are ready for interlinking of four rivers. Ken-Betwa link project is in advanced st," Kataria said. 

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