• Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi lauds the achievement of 11 crore tap water connections under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)
• 11 crore homes are now assured of health and well-being with this elixir of life reaching their doorsteps: Union Minister, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
• At the time of launch of JJM by the Prime Minister in 2019, only 3.23 crore (16.72%) rural households had access to tap water
• As on date, over 11 crore (56.84%) rural households have tap water supply in their homes
• 123 districts and over 1.53 lakh villages of India are now ‘Har Ghar Jal’
• Over 17 lakh women trained for testing water quality using Field Test Kits
• Over 5.20 lakh Pani Samitis formed under JJM to manage, operate and maintain in-village water supply infrastructure
WD News: As India celebrates its 74th Republic Day, over 11 crore rural households of the country now have access to tap water connection. Additionally, 123 districts and more than 1.53 lakh villages of India have reported ‘Har Ghar Jal’ which means every household has access to clean drinking water through tap.
Jal Jeevan Mission was announced by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on August 15, 2019 to provide every rural household with tap water connection by 2024. At the time of the launch of the Mission in 2019, out of 19.35 crore rural households, only 3.23 crore (16.72%) had access to tap water. As on date, within a short span of about three years of mission, over 11 crore (56.84%) rural households have tap water supply in their homes.
Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi praised the achievement of 11 crore tap water connections under Jal Jeevan Mission. He also congratulated all those who have benefitted from this initiative and complimented those working on the ground to make this mission a success.
Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister for Jal Shakti, tweeting about the achievement said, “The vision of our PM Sh. Narendra Modiji, the relentless pursuit of the goals set out for JalJeevanMission by the ministry and the effort of our team on ground has made this mega milestone possible”. The Union Minister further said that “11 crore homes are now assured of health and well-being with this elixir of life reaching their doorsteps”.
With focus on health and well-being of children, in 2020 on Gandhi Jayanti, a campaign was launched to provide tap water connection in all schools, Anganwadi centres and Ashramshalas (tribal residential schools) for drinking, cooking mid-day meal, hand washing and use in toilets. As on date, tap water supply has been provided in 8.84 lakh (85.79%) schools and 9.14 lakh (81.75%) Anganwadi centres. Goa, Kerala, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Jammu & Kashmir, and Puducherry are now providing 100% tap water connectivity in their schools and Anganwadi centres and 16 states/ UTs are in the range of 90% or more, and moving fast to achieve saturation.
Following the bottom-up approach, JJM is being implemented as a decentralised, demand-driven community-managed programme with the aim to provide all rural households with adequate quantity (55 LPCD) water of prescribed quality in adequate pressure, on regular and long-term basis. So far, over 5.20 lakh Pani Samitis / Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSC) have been formed under Jal Jeevan Mission to manage, operate and maintain in-village water supply infrastructure. On the water quality front, more than 17 lakh women have been trained for testing water samples using Field Test Kits (FTKs), which has led to the empowerment of women in rural areas.
Source & image courtesy: PIB
