Lok Sabha Question No. 2868 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-12
Subject: Depleting Water Level in Rajasthan
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Smt. Manju Sharma

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER & SANITATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2868 ANSWERED ON 12/12/2024

## DEPLETING WATER LEVEL IN RAJASTHAN

## †2868.  SMT. MANJU SHARMA:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  is  aware  of  severe  drinking  water  crisis  caused  by  constant depleting water level in various States of the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to overcome this situation;
- (c) the details of the projects being implemented by the Government in villages of the remote districts of Rajasthan;
- (d) the details of the funds allocated and utilised under the drinking water projects in various districts of Rajasthan during the last five years and the current year, district-wise;
- (e) whether the Government proposes to implement any special scheme to provide adequate supply of drinking water; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI V. SOMANNA )

(a) and (b) 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), being implemented in partnership with States/ UTs, since 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 JJM, 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 JJM towards enhancing access to tap water for rural households. At the start of JJM in August 2019, only 3.23 crore rural households were reported to have tap water connections. So far, as reported by States/ UTs as on 09.12.2024, around 12.10 crore additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections under JJM. Thus, as on 09.12.2024, out of 19.35 crore rural households in the country, approximately 15.34 crore (79.28%) households are reported to have tap water supply.

Development of reliable drinking water sources and/ or augmentation of existing sources to provide long-term sustainability of water supply system in villages, is an integral part of Jal Jeevan Mission.  As  per  operational  guidelines  for  the  implementation  of  JJM,  State  Level Scheme Sanctioning Committee (SLSSC), headed by Chief Secretary/ Addl. Chief Secretary/ Principal  Secretary/  Secretary  in-charge  of  Public  Health  Engineering  (PHE)/  Rural  Water Supply (RWS) Department, approves the schemes/ projects being taken up under JJM. The proposals placed before SLSSC are invariably reviewed by 'Source Finding Committee' for availability of potable water in adequate quantity in prescribed quality for the scheme design period. Further, provision has been made for the preparation of Village Action Plan (VAP) by village  community,  which inter  alia includes  strengthening  of  drinking  water  sources  in convergence with other schemes such as MGNREGS, Finance Commission grants to rural local bodies/ PRIs, MP & MLA's Local Area Development Fund, District Mineral Development Fund, CSR fund, etc.

(c) and (d) JJM follows a universal approach to cover all villages including those in remote districts of Rajasthan. As reported by the state government of Rajasthan, at the time of launch of JJM in the state on 15 th August, 2019, approximately 11.68 lakh rural households had tap water connections. Since then, 47.21 lakh additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections. Thus, as on 09.12.2024, the provision of tap water supply is available to more than 58.89 lakh (54.87%) rural households in Rajasthan.

Under JJM, funds are released directly to the States/ UTs and their district-wise fund details are not maintained at the Government of India level. However, the details of fund allocation, fund drawn and reported fund utilization during the last five years (2019-20, 2020-21, 202122, 2022-23 and 2023-24) and current financial year 2024-25 (as on 09.12.2024) by the state of Rajasthan are as under:

(Amount in Rs. Crore)

|          | Central         | Central    | Central    | Central        | Central              | Expenditure under State   |
|----------|-----------------|------------|------------|----------------|----------------------|---------------------------|
| Year     | Opening Balance | Allocation | Fund Drawn | Available Fund | Reported utilization | share                     |
| 2019-20  | 313.67          | 1,301.71   | 1,301.71   | 1,615.38       | 620.31               | 686.69                    |
| 2020-21  | 995.07          | 2,522.03   | 630.51     | 1,625.58       | 762.04               | 789.05                    |
| 2021-22  | 863.53          | 10,180.50  | 2,345.08   | 3,208.61       | 1,919.83             | 1,665.84                  |
| 2022-23  | 1,288.79        | 13,328.60  | 6,081.80   | 7,370.59       | 3,935.10             | 4,122.44                  |
| 2023-24  | 3,435.49        | 3,019.94   | 250.00     | 3,685.49       | 2,898.54             | 3,904.64                  |
| 2024-25* | 786.95          | 11,061.46  | 1,659.22   | 2,446.17       | 2,164.79             | 979.03                    |

Source: JJM-IMIS                                                                                   *as on 09.12.2024

(e) and (f) Government of India is implementing JJM which aims to provide adequate supply of drinking water to all rural households in the country. The details are provided in (a) to (d).

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