TAG: GS 2: GOVERNANCE
THE CONTEXT: The Indian government has made significant strides in expanding access to tap water in rural areas through its flagship initiative, the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) — Har Ghar Jal.
EXPLANATION:
- As of August 2023, the Ministry of Jal Shakti reported that over three-quarters (77.83%) of rural households now have tap water connections.
- This marks a considerable achievement, with 118 million new tap water connections provided since the program’s launch in 2019, bringing the total to 150.3 million households.
Impact on Rural Villages
- The expansion of tap water access has also reached a substantial number of villages.
- As of 1 August 2023, more than 127,000 villages have achieved the milestone of having tap water connections in every household.
- Among these, Uttar Pradesh leads with over 18,000 villages, followed by Gujarat with more than 16,000.
- This widespread availability of tap water is a critical step in improving living standards and health outcomes in rural India.
State and Union Territory Achievements
- The success of the Jal Jeevan Mission is not uniform across all states and union territories, but several regions have achieved 100% household coverage.
- Notably, Goa, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Puducherry, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Arunachal Pradesh, and Haryana have been certified by local communities as having tap water connections in every household.
- Other states like Telangana, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, and Gujarat have also reported full coverage, although these claims have yet to receive local certification.
- This certification process is crucial for ensuring that the data reflects ground realities and that all households genuinely have access to tap water.
Improvement in Water Quality
- The Jal Jeevan Mission is not just about expanding access but also about improving the quality of water supplied.
- The Ministry of Jal Shakti highlighted the progress made in reducing the number of rural habitations affected by arsenic and fluoride contamination.
- As of 1 April 2023, arsenic-affected habitations have decreased from 507 to 378, and fluoride-affected habitations have fallen from 393 to 348 within a year.
- This improvement in water quality is vital for the health and well-being of rural populations, particularly in areas previously plagued by waterborne diseases.
State Responsibilities and Funding Utilization
- Water supply is a state subject under the Indian Constitution, meaning that individual states and union territories bear the responsibility for implementing the Jal Jeevan Mission.
- The government has stipulated that states and union territories can allocate up to 2% of their Jal Jeevan Mission funds towards Water Quality Monitoring & Surveillance (WQM&S) activities.
- These activities include setting up and upgrading water quality testing laboratories, procuring necessary equipment, hiring skilled personnel, conducting community surveillance using field test kits (FTKs), raising awareness about water quality, and accrediting laboratories.
- This decentralized approach allows states to address their unique challenges in providing clean and safe drinking water, ensuring that the mission’s goals are met effectively and efficiently.
Jal Jeevan Mission
- Jal Jeevan Mission is envisioned to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India.
- It is being implemented by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under Ministry of Jal Shakti.
- The programme will implement source sustainability measures as mandatory elements, such as recharge and reuse through grey water management, water conservation, rain water harvesting.
- The Jal Jeevan Mission will be based on a community approach to water and will include extensive Information, Education and communication as a key component of the mission.
The broad objectives of the Mission are:
- To provide Functional Household Tap Connections(FHTCs) to every rural household. The priority will be in quality affected areas, villages in drought prone and desert areas, Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) villages, etc.
- To provide functional tap connection to Schools, Anganwadi centres, GP buildings, Health centres, wellness centres and community buildings
- To promote and ensure voluntary ownership among local community by way of contribution in cash, kind and/ or labour and voluntary labour (shramdaan) and to bring awareness in water conservation.
- To assist in ensuring sustainability of water supply system, i.e. water source, water supply infrastructure, and funds for regular O&M
- To empower and develop human resource in the sector such that the demands of construction, plumbing, electrical, water quality management, water treatment, catchment protection, O&M, etc. are taken care of in short and long term
The following components are supported under JJM
- Development of in-village piped water supply infrastructure to provide tap water connection to every rural household.
- Development of reliable drinking water sources and/ or augmentation of existing sources to provide long-term sustainability of water supply system.
- Wherever necessary, bulk water transfer, treatment plants and distribution network to cater to every rural household.
- Technological interventions for removal of contaminants where water quality is an issue.
- Greywater management
