Hyderabad: The number of rural households receiving tap water under Har Ghar Jal as part of Jal Jeevan Mission has been increased from 17% to over 47% i.e; more than nine crore in the last two-and-a-half years, according to the data shared by the Central government. In response to a query in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Prahlad Singh Patel told that out of 18.93 crore rural households, nearly half of them that is 9.16 crore rural households have access to tap water.
“Since August 2019, the Central government in partnership with States is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)-Har Ghar Jal to make the provision of potable water to every rural household of the country by 2024, through tap water connection at a service level of 55 litres per capita per day (LPCD), of prescribed quality (BIS:10500), on a regular and long-term basis,” Patel told the members.
The Union government will bear nearly 58% of the total outlay of the scheme and provide Rs 2.08 lakh crore of the total Rs 3.60 lakh crore, the remaining part will be borne by the States. In partnership with the States, the Centre plans to spend Rs 8 lakh crore on improving the water supply and sanitation system in the country, an ambitious project launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Water for 19 crore rural households
According to the Census 2011 data, 69% of India’s total population of 1.21 billion people was living in rural areas. The official data shows that out of nearly 19 crore (18.93 crore) rural households in the country, only 3.23 crore rural households, had access to tap water in August 2019 when the Jal Jeevan Mission was launched.
Within 30 months of the launch of the scheme, the tap water coverage in rural households has gone up to another 5.93 crore rural households. In the meantime, the number of rural households has also gone up from 18.93 crore to 19.31 crore rural households. The data shared by the Jal Shakti Ministry showed that the number of rural households having access to tap water has gone from 3.23 crore to 9.16 crore in the last 30 months.
The Centre has shared detailed guidelines with the States to prepare the action plan to increase the coverage of availability of safe drinking water in rural areas. These include guidelines for Gram Panchayats and Village Water Sanitation Committees (VWSCs) to provide safe drinking water to rural households, Anganwadi centres, Ashram Shalas and schools.
