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Under the ambitious Jal Jeevan Mission of the Jal Shakti Ministry, the government on Wednesday claimed to have provided tap water supply to more than 5.77 crore rural households, taking the total number to 9 crore since the programme was launched in August 2019.
"In order to translate Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of providing clean tap water to every home in the country by 2024, in a short span of two-and-a-half-years and despite Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown disruptions, Jal Jeevan Mission has provided tap water supply to more than 5.77 crore rural households," a release from the Ministry of Jal Shakti said.
At the time off the announcement of the Mission on August 15, 2019, of the 19.27 crore households, only 3.23 crore (17 per cent) households in India had tap water connections. "Following the principle of Prime Minister's vision of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas', in this short period, 98 districts, 1,129 blocks, 66,067 Gram Panchayats and 1,36,135 villages have become 'Har Ghar Jal'," the Ministry claimed.
Every rural household in Goa, Haryana, Telangana, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Puducherry, Dadar & Nagar Haveli, and Daman & Diu has tap water supply while many more states such as Punjab (99 per cent), Himachal Pradesh (92.4 per cent), Gujarat (92 per cent) and Bihar (90 per cent) are on the verge of becoming 'Har Ghar Jal' in 2022. 'Har Ghar Jal' is a term used for saturation coverage of tap water in a given rural habitation.
The government said that to achieve this mammoth task, Rs 3.60 lakh crore has been allocated for five years. Rs 60,000 crore has been allocated to 'Har Ghar Jal' in Union Budget 2022-23 to provide tap water to 3.8 crore households.
In addition to above, in 2021-22, Rs 26,940 crore has been allocated to states as 15th Finance Commission tied grant for water & sanitation to Rural Local Bodies/Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). There is an assured funding of Rs 1,42,084 crore for the next five years i.e. up to 2025-26. "This huge investment in rural areas across the country, is accelerating economic activities and boosting the rural economy, as well as creating employment opportunities in villages," the release said.
