Shimla: The state government has claimed of connecting as many as 7.93 lakhs households including Tashigang Village of Lahaul and Spiti District, with tapped drinking water in the last two years.

7.63 lakh tap water connections were installed in the last 72 years, the state government claimed in an official statement.

To provide universal coverage of water supply to all households through functional taps, the Union Government had announced Jal Jeevan Mission and aimed to provide tapped water by the year 2024.

The Himachal Government has aimed to connect every household of the state with tapped drinking water by the year 2022.

The Jal Shakti Vibhag has set up 14 district level and 42 subdivision level water testing laboratories to ensure safe water supply, out of which 37 laboratories have been certified by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).

A State-level laboratory is also being set up, where water samples would be tested for physical, chemical and microorganisms on standards of the National Bureau to ensure safe drinking water. In the last two years, 3,71,080 water samples have been tested. A campaign was also launched in June and October 2021 to increase the sampling of water in the state. In these two months, 64,701 water samples were tested in laboratories and 54,394 water samples were tested through field testing.