Despite the fact that the government's flagship Jal Jeevan Mission has reached 50% of rural households on average, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand continue to have less than 25% coverage of functional tap water connections.
According to official data, Uttar Pradesh has the lowest coverage at 13.75 percent, followed by Jharkhand at 20.01 percent, Chhattisgarh at 23.26 percent, and Rajasthan at 24.58 percent.
The government's initiative aims to provide safe and adequate drinking water to all rural Indian households through individual household tap connections by 2024. 9.59 crore of the country's 19.13 crore rural households have access to functional tap water connections.
According to official data, Goa, Telangana, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Puducherry, and Haryana have already achieved 100% household water connections, while Punjab, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and Bihar have covered more than 90% of households and are rapidly approaching the status of 'Har Ghar Jal.'
According to a senior official, while coverage was low in Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand, groundwork for establishing functional tap water connections was well underway, and results would be visible soon.
Tap water connections are also being provided to government schools, gramme panchayat offices, community health centres (CHCs), and Anganwadi centres as part of the Jal Jeevan Mission.
Tap water has been provided to 8.6 lakh schools, 8.89 lakh Anganwadi centres, and 3.51 lakh gramme panchayat offices and CHCs, according to official data.
Jharkhand has the lowest coverage of tap water connections in schools and Anganwadi centres among states and union territories, at 17.99% and 4.57 %, respectively.
About Jal Jeevan Mission:
Rashtriya Jal Jeevan Kosh (RJJK) evolved from the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), a flagship programme of the Government of India that was launched by the Prime Minister on August 15, 2019. By 2024, it plans to provide 'Functional Household Tap Connections' (FHTC) to every rural household in the country.
