By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 19: The state government has started geotagging water sources and projects being undertaken for monitoring and initiating correctional steps if required from the ministry.
“In our review meetings, we have instructed the districts to watch every source. Following a direction from the Centre, geotagging is being done to monitor these sources and we are taking steps to recharge and protect them,” PHE Minister Marcuise Marak said on Tuesday.
Outlining the steps to protect the catchment areas, he said: “Geotag means monitoring the sources from the level of the ministry so that correctional steps can be taken once a project is handed over to the people.”
Almost all the sources and projects are being geo-tagged, without which the Centre will not release the next instalment of the funds, he said.
Geotagging is the process of adding geographical identification metadata to various media such as a geotagged photograph or video, websites, SMS messages, QR codes, or RSS feeds and is a form of geospatial metadata. This data usually consists of latitude and longitude coordinates, and can also include altitude, bearing, distance, accuracy data, place names, and a time stamp.
Geotagging can help users find a wide variety of location-specific information from a device. For instance, someone can find images taken near a given location by entering latitude and longitude coordinates into a suitable image search engine.
On the progress of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), Marak said a total of 4,65,992 households have been provided with tap water connections and the project’s completion rate stands at 71.52%.
He said he has been touring the state extensively and reviewing the implementation of JJM.
“I have been inspecting the treatment and distribution plants and I have been taking feedback from the people on the quality of water being supplied to them,” he added.
Stating that the entire team comprising officers and engineers have been present during the inspections, he said, “Our engineers are doing very well to provide water to the people and I am proud to say that we are close to our target.”
“We are trying to give connections to almost 5 lakh households before Christmas. As of today, 4,65,992 lakh households have water connections,” Marak said, adding the terrain affects the speed of the project in many places.
“Most of our projects will be saturated by January, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants. The Chief Minister is constantly reviewing the progress,” he said.
He said the state received almost Rs 200 crore for JJM from the Centre and the department has started paying the contractors who have completed their work.