Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, more than 15.37 crore rural families out of a total of 19.36 crore have been connected with tap water. Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar
The Ministry of Jal Shakti has set its sights on 2025 to achieve the ambitious targets of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) and Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBM-G), after missing the 2024 deadline of providing tap water connections to all rural households. .
The ministry also aims to ensure universal Open Defecation Free (ODF) plus status for villages while promoting ecological restoration under the Namami Gange programme.
More than 15.37 crore rural households have been provided tap water connections out of a total of 19.36 crore under the Jal Jeevan Mission. However, about four million households remain open.
Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil emphasized on his ministry’s continued coordination with backward states and Union Territories and hoped to achieve full coverage.
“All four crore connections are at the level of completion, and though it is a state matter, we have asked all states and Union Territories to intensify their efforts to ensure 100% coverage as soon as possible,” Mr. Patil said. PTI.
Eleven states and Union Territories have already achieved complete rural tap water coverage. However, big states like Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Kerala and West Bengal lag behind with less than 60% coverage, according to official data.
A ministry official said the focus is on bridging these gaps, ensuring that no household is deprived of access to clean drinking water by 2025.
Sanitation is a parallel priority for the Ministry in 2025.
Currently, 95% of villages in India have declared themselves ODF Plus, a status that covers not only toilet construction but also solid-liquid waste management and overall sanitation.
Out of 5,86,707 villages in the country, 5,60,897 villages have achieved this milestone. Uttar Pradesh leads the ODF Plus tally with 93,947 villages, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 50,580 villages and Maharashtra with 37,327 villages.
Notably, more than 49,000 villages in Madhya Pradesh have reached the “exemplary” category, exhibiting exemplary sanitation standards.
Since the launch of SBM-G in 2014, the construction of 11.76 crore individual household toilets has significantly improved rural sanitation infrastructure, officials said.
By 2025, the ministry is confident that the remaining villages will achieve ODF Plus status, further strengthening India’s sanitation targets, another senior official said.
Under the Namami Gange programme, the Ministry has made significant environmental progress. The reintroduction of 1,428 gharials and 1,899 turtles into the Ganges and its tributaries has contributed to improving water quality. Wetland conservation initiatives including surveys in 27 districts of Uttar Pradesh and management plans for 387 wetlands in Bihar have given added strength to these efforts.
The ministry has also set a target of 2025 to complete plantation of 1,34,104 hectares of land within the Ganga basin to enhance the ecological balance.
published – December 26, 2024 at 11:58 am IST