To push tap water supply in the rural households in Maharashtra, the Centre has allocated a Rs 7,064 crore grant for 2021-22 under the Jal Jeevan Mission, which was Rs 1,828.92 crore in 2020-21.
The increase in grant followed a recent meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, while approving this four-fold increase in allocation of funds, has assured full assistance to Maharashtra for ensuring 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 per cent) had tap water supply.
During the last 21 months, despite the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns disruptions, the Jal Jeevan Mission has been implemented with speed and 4.27 Crore households have been provided with piped water connections.
With this increase in coverage by 22 per cent, 7.51 crore (39.12 per cent) rural households across the country presently have tap water supply.
Goa, Telangana, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Puducherry have achieved 100 per cent household tap connection in the rural areas.
In Maharashtra, out of a total of 142 lakh rural households, 91.30 lakh (64.14 per cent) have been provided with tap water connection.
When the mission was launched in August 2019, 48.43 lakh (34.02 per cent) rural households had tap water supply in Maharashtra. In the subsequent 21 months, 42.86 lakh households in the state have been provided tap water connection.
For 2021-22, the state has planned to provide tap water connections to 27.45 lakh households, followed by 18.72 lakh connections in 2022-23, and 5.14 lakh connections in 2023-24 to achieve tap water supply to every rural household.
The water supply work to provide tap water connection has not yet started in 29,417 villages in Maharashtra.
With a vision to provide clean tap water to every household, the Centre has allocated Rs 10,870 crore to Uttar Pradesh under the Jal Jeevan Mission for 2021-22.
The Ministry of Jal Shakti said: “The central allocation for the implementation of JJM to Uttar Pradesh is Rs 10,870.50 crore.
In 2019-20, the Centre has allocated Rs 1,206 crore, which was increased to Rs 2,571 crore in 2020-21. Thus, this year llocation for implementation of JJM in Uttar Pradesh has increased four-fold.
“During his last meeting with the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat had assured to provide all assistance to the state to make provision of tap water supply to every rural home under JJM.
During the review, Adityanath assured that the UP government will ensure tap water connection to every rural home by 2024 as announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In Uttar Pradesh there are 2.63 crore households in 97 thousand villages, out of which now 30.04 lakh (11.3 per cent) households have tap water supply in their homes. Before the launch of JJM only 5.16 lakh (1.96 per cent) households had tap water supply.
In the last 21 months, under JJM, the state has provided tap water supply to 24.89 lakh (9.45 per cent) households.
Despite this, there are about 2.33 crore households without tap water supply in Uttar Pradesh.
In a letter to the UP Chief Minister, Shekhawat has asked the state to take necessary measures to accelerate the implementation of JJM and to provide tap water supply to one third of the remaining households, i.e. to 78 lakh rural households in the state this year.
He also advised the state to start ground work on water supply projects/ schemes in more than 60 thousand villages this year.
