Bahbalpur to pilot panchayat-led drinking water mgmt in Panchkula

Panchkula: Bahbalpur is set to become the first gram panchayat in Panchkula district to manage and maintain its drinking water supply system under a new initiative of the public health engineering department.The decision was approved unanimously at a gram sabha meeting chaired by sarpanch Priyanka Devi. Representatives of the gram panchayat, village water and sewerage committee and departmental officials have signed a joint declaration to begin implementation.District consultant Arzoo Chaudhary said the policy aims to boost community participation and strengthen local ownership of water services. A village-level survey will be conducted to assess supply coverage, household connections and infrastructure needs.Explaining the framework, block coordinator Narendra Modgil said a maintenance contribution of Rs 100 per consumer will be collected for upkeep of the system.Executive engineer Sameer Sharma said the initiative would empower panchayats to ensure efficient water management while encouraging greater public participation, and urged other villages to adopt similar community-led models.