77.83% of Rural Households Now Have Tap Water Connections Under JJM

Government of India in partnership with States, is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) – Har Ghar Jal to make provision of tap water supply to every rural household. At the start of Jal Jeevan Mission in August 2019, only 3.23 Crore (16.8%) rural households were reported to have tap water connections. So far, as reported by States/ UTs as on 01.08.2024, around 11.80 Crore additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections. Thus, as on 01.08.2024, out of 19.32 Crore rural households in the country, more than 15.03 Crore (77.83%) households are reported to have tap water supply in their homes.

As on date, 11 States/ UTs have become ‘Har Ghar Jal’ States/ UT i.e. 100% households are having tap water supply and the remaining States/ UTs are in at various stages of achieving the objectives of the mission. The State/ UT-wise status of tap water connection provided under the Mission in rural areas is also in public domain and available on JJM dashboard at:

https://ejalshakti.gov.in/jjmreport/JJMIndia.aspx

States have informed that lack of dependable drinking water sources in water-stressed, drought prone and desert areas, presence of geo-genic contaminants in ground water, uneven geographical terrain, scattered rural habitations, delay in release of the matching State share in some States, lack of technical capacity with implementing agencies, Gram Panchayats and local communities to plan, manage, operate & maintain the water supply schemes, rising price of raw materials, delay in obtaining statutory/ other clearances, etc. are few of problems being faced in the implementation of the Mission.

To address the challenges holistically and overcome these, Government of India has taken a number of steps, inter alia including implementation of Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure through M/o Finance for financial assistance as 50-year interest free loan for capital investment projects; nomination of a nodal officer in the Department for coordinating with Central nodal Ministries/ Departments/ agencies to facilitate the States in obtaining Statutory/ other clearances; setting up of State Programme Management Units (SPMUs) and District Programme Management Units (DPMUs) and implementation of ‘Nal Jal Mitra Programme’ for ensuring availability of skilled local persons at village level to bridge the gap in availability of technical skill sets and of HR for programme management;

Under the mission, States have been advised for source recharging, viz. dedicated bore well recharge structures, rainwater recharge, rejuvenation of existing water bodies, reuse of greywater, etc., in convergence with other schemes such as MGNREGS, Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), 15^th Finance Commission tied grants to RLBs/ PRIs, State schemes, CSR funds, etc.

Further, Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain (JSA: CTR) campaign aiming to encourage water conservation at grass-root levels with people’s participation was launched in 2019 in 256 water stressed districts of the country. Morever, recognizing the importance of sustainable water management especially for drinking water availability, JSA-CTR was implemented with the theme ‘Source Sustainability for Drinking Water’ in 2023. Similarly, in 2024, JSA is being implemented with the theme ‘Nari Shakti se Jal Shakti’ from 09.03.2024 to 30.11.2024 emphasizing the pivotal role played by women in the field of water conservation.

As per Operational Guidelines of JJM, after making provision of tap connections to all rural households in a village, the Department implementing the scheme provides completion certificate to Gram Panchayat and marks the village as ‘Har Ghar Jal’ village on JJM-IMIS. Subsequently, Gram Panchayats in its Gram Sabha meeting after reading out aloud the work completion report, formally passes resolution certifying itself as ‘Har Ghar Jal’ village. The copy of certificate provided by implementing department, resolution passed by Gram Sabha, and a small video capturing the Gram Sabha is reflected on JJM Dashboard and village is marked certified in JJM-IMIS.

As reported by State, as on 01.08.2024, out of around 2.31 lakh villages reported as ‘Har Ghar Jal’, around 1.28 lakh villages have been certified by the respective Gram Sabha.

 State/ UT-wise Har Ghar Jal reported and certified villages as on 01.08.2024

Source: JJM-IMIS