Since August 2019, Government of India, in partnership with States, is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)-Har Ghar Jal to enable every rural household in the country to have assured potable water through tap connection.

At the time of announcement of Jal Jeevan Mission, 3.23 Crore (17%) rural households were reported to have tap water connections. So far, as reported by States/ UTs as on 31.07.2023, around 9.46 Crore additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections. Thus, as on 31.07.2023, out of 19.43 Crore rural households in the country, around 12.69 Crore (65.33%) households are reported to have tap water supply in their homes and the remaining 6.74 Crore are to be covered.

Under the mission, provisions have been made for source recharging, viz. dedicated bore well recharge structures, rainwater recharge, rejuvenation of existing water bodies, etc., in convergence with other schemes such as MGNREGS, Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), 15th Finance Commission tied grants to RLBs/ PRIs, State schemes, CSR funds, etc.

Further, for supplementing the efforts of the States, the Central Government has taken various steps for sustainable ground water management in the country. Details are available at:

https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s3a70dc40477bc2adceef4d2c90f47eb82/uploads/2023/02/2023021742.pdf

In addition, to deal with the impact of climate change on the water sector, the National Water Mission under this Ministry has launched the State Specific Action Plan. The State Specific Action Plans essentially consist of:

1. Preparation of status report on the present situation of water resources development and management, water governance, Institutional arrangements, water-related policies, cross-boundary issues and agreements etc. of the State/Union Territory. The document should also define problems/issues related to all the aspects of water resources specific to the State.
2. Identifying a set of probable solutions to address the key issues/ problem areas giving pros and cons of the solutions.
3. Preparation of a detailed Action Plan for each of the strategies/activities identified in the NWM to be implemented by the State/Union territory.

Dynamic Ground Water Resources of the country are being periodically assessed jointly by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and State Governments. As per the 2020 assessment, out of the total 6965 assessment units (Blocks/ Taluks/ Mandals/ watersheds/ Firkas) in the country, 1114 units in 15 States/UTs have been categorized as 'Overexploited' where the Annual Ground Water Extraction is more than Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource.

The complete groundwater resource information including details of Over-exploited assessment units for the entire country (including State/UT-wise) can be seen at:

 http://cgwb.gov.in/documents/2021-08-02-GWRA_India_2020.pdf

This information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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