Minister of State for Food Processing Industries and Jal Shakti Prahlad Singh Patel told the media that of 1.27 crore houses in 79,395 rural settlements in 12,525 village panchayats in Tamil Nadu, around 46.33 lakh houses had been given drinking water supply. Patel appreciated the state government for providing 100% drinking water supply to schools, health care centres, meal centres and government buildings. The minister has instructed the officials to take necessary steps to improve, maintain and protect water supply sources. He focused on the need for covering the household in a phased manner to provide water supply connections. He said that the work is ongoing to eradicate open defecation by building individual and community toilets and improving waste management systems in rural areas. To begin the operation, the government has allotted Rs 366.58 crore under the Swachh Bharat Mission. The minister also visited Trichy to participate in multiple events. He inaugurated an overhead water tank and a community sanitary complex, which was built under the Swachh Bharat Mission at Samathuvapuram in Navalpattu panchayat. The overhead tank of 30,000 litres was constructed at Rs 10 crore, and the community sanitary complex was built at Rs 5.25 lakh. Other officials, including District Collector S Sivarasu, also attended the events. Image SourceAlso read: Telangana govt to set up 31 sewerage treatment plants at Rs 3,800 cr