The Samikhsya Bureau
NEW DELHI: Jal Jeevan Mission has reached a new milestone of providing over 4 Crore rural households with tap water supply.
Goa has become the first State in the country to provide 100% tap water supply followed by Telangana and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
The untiring efforts of States/ UTs have helped Jal Jeevan Mission provide assured tap water supply to every family living in 56 districts and over 86 thousand villages. States/ UTs are now competing with each other and focusing on the target to ensure that every household in the country gets safe drinking water , so that ‘no one is left out’, Ministry of Jal Shakti pointed out.
Jal Jeevan Mission is being implemented in partnership with the States with an aim to provide potable water in adequate quantity, of prescribed quality on regular and long-term basis. Extensive planning exercise is undertaken by the States/ UTs following ‘bottom-up approach’. Accordingly, they have firmed up the Action Plan to provide tap water connection to every rural household.
While implementing, States are giving priority to water quality-affected areas, villages in drought prone and desert areas, Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe majority villages, aspirational districts and Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna villages.
Since children are more susceptible to water-borne diseases, a campaign has been launched to provide tap water supply in schools and ashramshalas and anganwadi centres across the country so that whenever the schools reopen, children are provided with safe water for drinking. Tap water to be used for cooking mid-day meal, providing handwashing facility and usage in toilets.
Potable water supply to water quality-affected habitations is a top priority under Jal Jeevan Mission. Efforts are made to ensure safe drinking water is provided to all quality-affected villages especially Arsenic and Fluoride affected rural habitations.
