More than 5.5 crore households have been provided with tap water supply since the start of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in August, 2019. The Economic Survey 2021-22 presented in the Parliament today by Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman states that the JJM seeks to provide adequate safe drinking water through individual household tap connection to households in rural India by 2024 and will benefit more than 19 crore rural families or more than 90 crore rural population.

Giving details, the Survey observes that in 2019, out of about 18.93 crore families in rural areas, about 3.23 crore (17 percent) rural families had tap water connections in their homes. As on 2^nd January, 2022, 5,51,93,885 houlseholds have been provided with tap water supply since the start of the mission. Six States/UTs have achieved the coveted status of 100 percent households with tap water supply, namely Goa, Telangana, A & N Islands, Puducherry, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu and Haryana. Equivalently, 83 districts, 1016 blocks, 62,749 panchayats and 1,28,893 villages have achieved the 100 percent households with tap water supply status. As on 19.01.2022, under Jal Jeevan Mission, 8,39,443 schools were provided water supply.

Under the JJM, priority is for quality affected areas, villages in drought prone and desert areas, Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) villages, to provide functional tap connection to Schools, Anganwadi Centres, GP Buildings, Health Centre, wellness centres and community buildings. Total outlay for the mission is Rs.3.60 lakh crores.

The JJM will employ technological interventions for transparency and accountability (i) IMIS to capture physical and financial progress; (ii) ‘Dashboard’; (iii) ‘Mobile App’; (iv) Sensor-based IoT solution for measurement and monitoring water supply for quantity, quality and regularity in villages on real time basis; (v) geo-tagging every asset created; (vi) Linkage of tap connection with Aadhar number; (vii) transaction through Public Finance Management System (PFMS).

Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) [SBM-G]:

            Rural sanitation has made tremendous progress under SBM-G since its inception on 2^nd October, 2014. Since inception till 28.12.2021, more than 10.86 crore toilets have been built in rural India.

            Open Defecation Free (ODF) Plus under Phase II of SBM (G) is being implemented from 2020-21 to 2024-25 with a goal of making all the villages Open Defecation Free. During 2021-22 (as on 25.10.2021) a total of 7.16 lakh Individual household latrines for new emerging households and 19,061 Community Sanitary Complexes have been constructed. Also 2,194 villages have been declared as ODF Plus.

            As per the recently released finding of the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey, 2019-21 (NFHS-5), population living in households that use an improved sanitation facility has increased from 48.5 percent in 2015-16 to 70.2 percent in 2019-21.

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