The Public Health Engineering Department is responsible for preparing and implementing schemes to provide safe drinking water in rural areas of the state, as well as preparing and implementing water supply schemes in urban areas according to the requirements of the respective urban local bodies.

Main Responsibilities of the Department:

At present, the primary responsibility of the Department is to ensure the continuous supply of safe and quality drinking water to all 49.97 lakh rural households in the state under the Jal Jeevan Mission through Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTCs), at the prescribed norm of 55 litres per capita per day (LPCD), on a long-term and sustainable basis. The other responsibilities of the Department are as follows:

• Survey, design, and implementation of drinking water schemes to provide safe drinking water in rural areas.
• Implementation of handpump schemes to provide safe drinking water in problem-affected habitations.
• Design and implementation of overhead tank-based piped water supply schemes in rural areas.
• Design and implementation of surface water-based multi-village rural water supply schemes in villages and habitations where adequate groundwater sources are unavailable or groundwater quality is affected.
• Installation and maintenance of water treatment plants, as required, in habitations affected by water quality issues such as excess iron, fluoride, arsenic, and salinity.
• Maintenance of departmental handpumps installed to provide drinking water in rural areas of the state.
• Testing and continuous monitoring of drinking water sources in rural areas using Field Test Kits (FTKs), along with training Gram Panchayats and local communities in water quality testing and monitoring.
• Establishment of state-level, district-level, and sub-divisional drinking water quality testing laboratories and testing of water samples.
• Provision of safe drinking water through running water facilities in government schools, Anganwadi centres located in government buildings, and other government buildings in rural areas.
• Temporary arrangements for drinking water and toilet facilities at fairs and festivals.
• Operation and maintenance of off-village infrastructure and facilities.
• Maintenance of tanks, water sources, and chlorinator devices installed as part of in-village infrastructure.