Jal Jeevan Mission achieves milestone of 12 crore tap water connections

Jal Jeevan Mission achieves milestone of 12 crore tap water connections

Working on the motto of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas aur Sabka Prayas, Jal Jeevan Mission has achieved a new milestone of 12 crore tap water connections. Marching towards achieving the SDG 6, means 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, the mission continues to make rapid strides towards achieving ‘Har Ghar Jal’ dream.

It is a remarkable journey for the mission. At the time of announcement of the JJM by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15th August 2019, only 3.23 crore, means just 16.64% of the total households in villages had access to piped water connection. Now the number has risen to 12 crore in just over 3 years.

It is also remarkable that 5 states-Goa, Telangana, Haryana, Gujarat and Punjab and 3 UTs- Puducherry, D&D and D&NH and A&N Islands, have reported 100% coverage. Other states are also making strides in this direction with Himachal Pradesh having achieve 98.35% coverage, followed by Bihar at 96.05%. They are well poised to achieve saturation in the near future.

In the meantime, Goa, Haryana, Punjab, A&N Islands, Puducherry, D&NH and D&D are ‘Har Ghar Jal certified states or UTs, as the villagers in these states or UTs, have confirmed through Gram Sabhas that all households and public institutions are getting adequate, safe and regular supply of water.

In the country, thousands of schools and other such centres have also been facing shortage of water. But, the relentless efforts of Central and state governments have resulted in ensuring the availability of tap water supply in 9.06 lakh, means 88.55% of schools have got it.

Similarly, 9.39 lakh anganwadi centres, means 84% of the centres operating in the country, now receive tap water supply. In the 112 aspirational districts of our country, at the time of the launch of the Mission, only 21.64 lakh households had access to tap water, which has now increased to 1.67 crore.

Jal Jeevan Mission has also resulted in significant socio-economic benefits to the rural population. Regular tap water supply has given a great relife to the people, especially women and young girls, who earlier carried heavy bucket loads of water from far-fetched areas to meet their daily household needs. Now, the time saved, can be used for income generation activities, learning new skills and supporting children’s education.

Earlier, huge number of people were affected with arsenic or fluoride contamination in drinking water sources. Now, majority of them receive safe drinking water through the mission.