We will provide water to all households: BJP

New Delhi, April 7 (IANS) The BJP Monday said it would give high priority to water security and provide piped water to all households.

The party's manifesto for the Lok Sabha election released Monday had a sub-head on water which talked about the increasing gap between demand and supply of water in the country.

It said the party would launch the "Pradhan Mantri Gram Sinchayee Yojana" with the motto of "har khet ko paani (water for every field)".

"Trends indicate that India would be a 'water stressed' state by 2050 and the gap between the demand and supply would be 50 percent. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) recognises the seriousness of the issue," the manifesto said.

The manifesto said potable drinking water was not available to the population despite over six decades of Independence.

"Water is a dwindling resource, with threat of water scarcity looming large. We will address the issue in a comprehensive manner across multiple dimensions. The BJP remains committed to giving high priority to water security," it said.

The party said it would complete pending irrigation projects on priority and encourage efficient use of water and rain water harvesting. It would work for setting up desalination plants to provide drinking water in coastal cities.

The party said it would work on inter-linking of rivers based on feasibility.

The BJP said it would encourage setting up of drinking water supply grid in water scarce areas, promote community-managed water resource management and "facilitate piped water to all the households (in the country)".