By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI/BHUBANESWAR: The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) today achieved another milestone of providing tap water connections to 13 Crore rural households. Working with ‘speed and scale’, the life changing mission has increased the rural tap connection coverage from only 3.23 Crore households at the start of the Mission in August, 2019 to 13 crore in just 4 years. Jal Jeevan Mission was announced by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi from the ramparts of the Red Fort on 15th August, 2019 as the country celebrated its 73rd Independence Day.
As on date, 6 States namely Goa, Telangana, Haryana, Gujarat, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh) and 3 UTs – Puducherry, D&D and D&NH and A&N Islands, have reported 100% coverage. Bihar at 96.39%, followed by Mizoram at 92.12%, are also poised to achieve saturation in the near future. Goa, Haryana, Punjab, A&N Islands, Puducherry, D&NH and D&D are ‘Har Ghar Jal certified States/ UTs i.e., in these states/ UTs, the villagers have confirmed through Gram Sabhas that ‘all households and public institutions’ in the village are getting adequate, safe and regular supply of water. As many as 145 districts and 1,86,818 villages in the country have reported 100% coverage.
The Mission implements the programme in partnership with States/ UTs and it is the combined efforts of all including development partners that transformational change is seen on ground. Every second, one tap water connection is getting installed thereby changing the rural landscape of the country. Since 1st January 2023, on an average 87,500 tap connections are provided every day. Uttar Pradesh has topped the progress chart in the current FY by installing 61.05 lakh Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) since January 2023.
The relentless efforts of the Union and State governments have also resulted in ensuring the provision of tap water supply in 9.15 lakh (88.73%) schools and 9.52 lakh (84.69%) anganwadi centres in the country. In the 112 aspirational districts of our country, at the time of the launch of the Mission, only 21.41 lakh (7.86%) households had access to tap water which has now increased to 1.81 Crore (66.48%).
Work under ‘Har Ghar Jal’ is resulting in significant socio-economic benefits for the rural population. Regular tap water supply relieves people, especially women and young girls, from century old drudgery of carrying heavy bucket loads of water to meet their daily household needs. The time saved can be used for income generation activities, learning new skills and supporting children’s education.
In order to achieve long-term sustainability of the schemes, community participation from the very beginning has been at the heart of planning, implementation, operations and maintenance (O&M) of rural piped water supply schemes. More than 5.27 lakh Village Water & Sanitation Committees (VWSC)/ Pani Samitis have been constituted in the country and 5.12 lakh Village Action Plans (VAPs) have been prepared including the plans for drinking water source augmentation, greywater treatment and its reuse, and regular O&M of in-village water supply systems.
At the time of launch of Jal Jeevan Mission, 22,016 habitations (Arsenic – 14,020, Fluoride- 7,996), having 1.79 Crore population (Arsenic-1.19 crore, Fluoride-0.59 crore), were affected with Arsenic/ Fluoride contamination in drinking water sources. As reported by States/ UTs, now safe drinking water is available in all the Arsenic/ Fluoride-affected habitations.
Jal Jeevan Mission believes in not just providing water but ensuring that quality water is supplied every time. In this regard regular testing of water sample from source and delivery points are collected and checked. Recognizing the work carried out by the Department, this year Silver Award was bestowed by Department of Personnel & Training upon the WQMIS under the category “Application of emerging technologies for promoting citizen centric services”.
Working on the motto of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas aur Sabka Prayas, Jal Jeevan Mission is marching towards achieving the SDG 6, i.e., safe and affordable water to all, through provision of safe water through taps to all households, schools, anganwadis and other public institutions, in rural areas.
