44% of rural households in ST areas yet to get tap water connection: Govt

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About 44 per cent of the rural households in the Scheduled Tribe areas in the country are yet to get tap water connection, according to government data.

Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Prahlad Singh Patel said 1.2 crore out of 2.17 crore (55.3 per cent) rural tribal households have tap water connection

According to data, the states where more than half the rural tribal households are yet to get tap water connection are Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal, the minister said.

To enable every rural household in the country to have potable tap water supply by 2024, including those in tribal areas and areas, the government is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) Har Ghar Jal in partnership with the states.

Responding to another question, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bishweswar Tudu said the Central Water Commission (CWC) monitors live storage status of 146 important reservoirs in the country on a weekly basis and publishes weekly bulletin every Thursday.

As per the latest reservoir storage bulletin, 86 reservoirs are 40 per cent or below their capacity.