Team News Riveting
Ranchi, June 29
To translate Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of providing clean tap water to every household, Union government has increased the central grant to Jharkhand under the Jal Jeevan Mission in the year 2021-22 to Rs 2,479.88 Crore, which was Rs 572.24 Crore in 2020-21.
Union Minister, Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat while approving this four-fold increase in allocation has assured full assistance to the State for making provision of tap water supply in every rural home by 2024.
At the start of the Mission in 2019, out of a total of 19.20 Crore rural households in the country, only 3.23 Crore (17%) had tap water supply. During the last 22 months, despite Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown disruptions, Jal Jeevan Mission, has been implemented with speed and 4.39 Crore households have been provided with piped connections.
With the increase in coverage by 23%, presently 7.62 Crore (nearly 40%) rural households across the country have tap water supply. Goa, Telangana, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Puducherry have achieved 100% household connection in rural areas and has become ‘Har Ghar Jal’. Following the principle of Prime Minister’s vision of ‘SabkaSaath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’, the motto of the Mission is that ‘no one is left out’ and every household in a village should be provided with tap water connection. At present, in 63 districts and around 95 thousand villages, every household has tap water supply.
In Jharkhand, out of 58.95 lakh households in 29,752 villages only 7.72 lakh households (13%) have been provided with tap water connections. On 15th August 2019, at the time of launch of Jal Jeevan Mission, only 3.45 lakh (5.85%) households had tap water supply. In 22 months, 4.27 lakh households (7.24%) in the State have been provided tap water connections. However, in comparison to national average of 23%, increase in providing tap water supply in Jharkhand is very slow. In the year 2020-21 only 2.99 lakh tap water connections were provided in the State. With this pace providing tap water connection to remaining 51.23 lakh households is a big task.
In 2020-21, State could not utilize the grants available due to slow speed of implementation. In 2020-21, Rs 572.24 Crore Central grant was available with the State but it could draw only Rs 143.06 Crores only and surrendered Rs 429.18 Crores meant for tap water supply in rural areas of the State.
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