More than 80% of Indian rural households have potable water connection
'As on 16 July, out of 193.6 million rural households in the country, more than 156.7 Crore (80.93%) households are reported to have tap water supply in their homes,' minister of state for Jal Shakti V. Somanna said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
Since August 2019, the Centre, in partnership with states, has been implementing the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM): Har Ghar Jal to enable every rural household to have assured potable water through tap water connections.
At the start of the mission, around 32.3 million (16.7%) rural households were reported to have tap water connections. So far, as reported by states and Union territories as on 16 July, around 124.3 million additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections.
Therefore, as of 16 July, out of 193.6 million rural households in the country, more than 156.7 million (80.93%) households are reported to have a tap water supply.
The department of drinking water and sanitation undertakes an assessment of the functionality of household tap water connections provided under the mission through an independent third-party agency, based on standard statistical sampling.
During the Functionality Assessment 2022, it was found that 86% of households had working tap connections. Out of these, 85% were getting water in adequate quantity, 80% were getting water regularly as per the schedule of water supply for their piped water supply scheme, and 87% of households were receiving water as per the prescribed water quality standards. The functionality assessment for 2024 is underway.
To ensure the successful implementation of the mission, the Centre has been regularly reviewing the implementation with the respective state governments. Further, review meetings, conferences, workshops and video conferences were also held at the highest level, wherein states were advised to plan and expedite the implementation to achieve the goal in a time-bound manner.
In addition, field visits were also undertaken to handhold the states for expeditious implementation of the mission.
In his reply to the Rajya Sabha, the minister also mentioned that the district- and village-wise status of tap water connections in rural areas has been made public.
Also, considering the requests from various states seeking central support for meeting the additional cost of raw materials, increased due to the covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine crisis, requisite amendments were made in the mission's operational guidelines with effect from 21 June 2022 to sustain the pace of implementation.
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