Over 37.7 mn rural homes given water connections under Jal Mission: Govt

More tap water connections were provided to rural households since the Jal Jeevan Mission was announced in August 2019 than what existed before, the Jal Shakti Ministry said on Tuesday.

As on date, more than 3.77 crore households were provided with tap water connections since the mission began, it said.

At the time when the mission was announced, out of 18.93 crore rural households, only 3.23 crore (17 per cent) had tap water connections, the ministry said.

The Jal Jeevan Mission, a flagship programme of the Narendra Modi government, aims to provide tap water connections to all rural households by 2024.

Since the beginning of the mission, as on date, more than 3.77 crore households were provided with tap water connections, that is, more than 7 crore rural families (36.5 per cent) started getting clean water in their homes. In other words, more than one-third of rural households are getting potable water through taps now, it said.

The ministry stressed that the drinking water supply work continued despite COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown.

The lockdown-1 was utilised for planning activities with several rounds of discussion through video conferencing with states/UTs. Further, water supply was deemed one of the essential items and the work continued following due precautions. Almost one lakh connections were provided every day, it said.

Every family living in 52 districts, 670 blocks, 42,100 panchayats and 81,123 villages are getting tap water supply in their homes.

Goa has become the first state in the country to provide 100 per cent tap water connections followed by Telangana, the ministry added.