Government of India is committed to make provision for safe & potable tap water supply in adequate quantity, of prescribed quality and on a regular & long-term basis to all rural households in the country. Towards this end, the Government of India launched the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), to be implemented in partnership with states, in August 2019. Drinking Water is a State subject, and hence, the responsibility of planning, approval, implementation, operation, and maintenance of drinking water supply schemes, including those under the Jal Jeevan Mission, lies with State/UT Governments. The Government of India supports the States by providing technical and financial assistance.

Significant progress has been made in the country since the launch of Jal Jeevan Mission, towards enhancing access to tap water to rural households. At the time of announcement of Jal Jeevan Mission in August 2019, only 3.23 Crore (17%) rural households were reported to have tap water connections. So far, as reported by States/ UTs as on 04.02.2024, additional 11.01 Crore rural households have been provided with tap water connections under JJM. Thus, as on 04.02.2024, out of 19.27 Crore rural households in the country, more than 14.24 Crore (73.93%) households are reported to have tap water supply in their homes.

A few of the major challenges being faced by the States in the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission are listed as under:

1. Lack of dependable drinking water sources in water-stressed areas,
2. Presence of geo-genic contaminants in ground water,
3. Uneven geographical terrain, scattered rural habitations,
4. Lack of capacity of the local village communities to manage and operate in-village water supply infrastructure.

 

Further, delay in release of matching State share in few States has also challenged the progress of the Mission.

As per Operational Guidelines of JJM, after making provision of tap connections to all rural households in a village, the Department implementing the scheme provides completion certificate to Gram Panchayat and marks the village as ‘Har Ghar Jal’ village on JJM-IMIS. Subsequently, Gram Panchayats in its Gram Sabha meeting after reading out aloud the work completion report, formally passes resolution certifying itself as ‘Har Ghar Jal’ village. The copy of certificate provided by implementing department, resolution passed by Gram Sabha, and a small video capturing the Gram Sabha is reflected on JJM Dashboard and village is marked certified in JJM-IMIS. As such, due to time lag in the two processes, the difference exists in Har Ghar Jal reported and certified villages.

As reported by State, as on 30.01.2024, out of around 2.02 lakh villages reported as ‘Har Ghar Jal’, more than 1.01 lakh villages have been certified by the respective Gram Sabha. State/ UT-wise details is at Annex-I.

States/ UTs, are being regularly advised during various review meetings, field visits, conferences, etc. to provide tap water connections to all households and complete the HGJ certification.  Moreover, time and again States are advised to organize special Gram Sabha meetings for Har Ghar Jal certification after completion of tap water supply works in the village.

Under JJM, to ensure usage of quality material and quality construction, States have been advised to engage third party inspection agencies to check the quality of implementation and inspection of work before payment. Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation also undertakes annual assessment of the functionality of household tap water connections provided under the Mission, through an independent third-party agency, based on standard statistical sampling. During the functionality assessment 2021-22, it was found that 86% of households had working tap connections. Out of these, 85% were getting water in adequate quantity, 80% were getting water regularly as per the schedule of water supply for their piped water supply scheme, and 87% of households were receiving water as per the prescribed water quality standards.

To bring transparency and effective monitoring, an online ‘JJM dashboard’ & mobile App has been created, which provides State/ UT, district, and village-wise progress as well as status of provision of tap water supply to rural homes.

Further, to ensure universal coverage through tap water connection, the Department has evolved a comprehensive multi-level and multi-format system of monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of programme, linking AADHAR of the head of household for targeted delivery and monitoring of specific outcomes, subject to statutory provisions, including geo-tagging of assets created, third-party inspections before making payments, measurement and monitoring of water supply in villages through sensor-based IoT solution etc.

State/ UT-wise details of Central fund allocated under Jal Jeevan Mission since 2019-20 is at Annex-II.

Water being a State subject, discrepancies, if any observed in the reported data and ground realities, through various monitoring mechanisms envisaged under the Mission, are taken up with respective State Governments for taking requisite immediate corrective action.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar in a written reply in Lok Sabha

 today.

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AS

 

Annex-I

State/ UT-wise Har Ghar Jal reported and certified

 

Source: JJM-IMIS

 

Annex-II

State/ UT-wise central fund allocated under Jal Jeevan Mission since 2019-20 to 2023-24

(Amount in Rs. Crore)

 Source: JJM-IMIS 

No fund drawn by Dadra & Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu (DNH & DD)

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