NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, MAY 31
The Centre has allocated a Rs 3,410-crore grant to Gujarat under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) and has released its first tranche of Rs 852 crore, the Jal Shakti Ministry said on Monday.
During 2020-21, 10.94 lakh rural households in Gujarat were provided tap water connections and in 2021-22, the state plans to provide more than 10 lakh households piped water supply, it said.
The state has 92.92 lakh rural households, out of which now 77.21 lakh or 83 per cent households have tap water connection.
Last year, during a review meeting with Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had assured to implement the JJM with speed and ensure tap water supply to every rural household in the state by 2022, two years before the national deadline.
“The National Jal Jeevan Mission, Ministry of Jal Shakti, government of India has allocated Rs 3,410.61 crore grant to the state of Gujarat under the Jal Jeevan Mission for the year 2021-22, out of which the first tranche of Rs 852.65 crores has been released,” the ministry said.
Shekhawat has approved a four-fold increase in allocation of grant to Gujarat for water supply, it said.
The Centre’s allocation for 2019-20 was Rs 390.31 crore, which was raised to Rs 883.08 crore in 2020-21, the ministry said.
The ”Jal Jeevan Mission-Har Ghar Jal” was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15, 2019, to ensure potable tap water supply to every rural home by 2024 to improve the lives of people living in villages, especially women and girls.
The Union Budget 2021-22 has allocated Rs 50,000 crore for this ambitious scheme.
Out of 18,000 villages in Gujarat, in more than 6,700 villages, tap water supply to every household has been ensured. In 2020-21, about 5,900 villages were made ”Har Ghar Jal” by providing each and every home a functional tap water connection, the ministry said, adding that in five districts of the state, every rural household has tap water supply.
It said as per annual action plan of the state, approved by the National Jal Jeevan Mission, another 18 districts and 6,400 more villages will have 100 percent coverage with tap water supply.
It is expected that in next few months, more than 12,000 villages and 23 districts of Gujarat will become ”Har Ghar Villages” i.e. every household with tap water supply.
