Lok Sabha Question No. 213 (STARRED), answered on 2025-03-13
Subject: Functional Household Tap Connections
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Selvam G, Shri Mohmad Haneefa

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

## DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER & SANITATION

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 213

ANSWERED ON 13/03/2025

## FUNCTIONAL HOUSEHOLD TAP CONNECTIONS

## *213.  SHRI SELVAM G: SHRI MOHMAD HANEEFA:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to State:

- (a) the  percentage  and  total  number  of  households  provided  with  Functional  Household  Tap Connections (FHTCs) under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in the country including Tamil Nadu and Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh since its inception, district-wise;
- (b) the details of funds allocated, released and utilized under JJM in Tamil Nadu and UT of Ladakh since its inception, year-wise;
- (c) the number of rural households yet to receive tap water connections under JJM in Tamil Nadu and UT of Ladkah along with the timeline for achieving hundred per cent coverage;
- (d) whether the Government has identified any  challenges  in  implementing  JJM  and  if  so,  the details thereof along with the measures taken/being taken in this regard;
- (e) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to ensure sustainable water supply, including measures for rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge and wastewater management in rural areas of Tamil Nadu;
- (f) whether the quality of drinking water provided under JJM in Ladakh is monitored regularly and if so, the details thereof; and
- (g) the action taken/being taken by the Government to address the issues, such as poor quality of work and delays in the implementation of the said scheme in the region?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF JAL SHAKTI (SHRI C R PATIL)

(a) to (g): A Statement is laid on the table of the House.

Statement referred to in reply to parts (a) to (g) in respect of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. *213 for reply on 13.03.2025 regarding Functional Household tap connections asked by Shri Selvam G and Shri Mohmad Haneefa

- (a) Government of India is committed to make provision for safe & potable tap water supply in adequate quantity (55 lpcd), 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), to be implemented in partnership with State/ UTs including Tamil Nadu and Ladakh, in 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  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 (16.8%) rural households were reported to have tap water connections. So far, as reported by States/ UTs on JJMIMIS, as on 10.03.2025, around 12.28 Crore additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections under JJM. Thus, as on 10.03.2025, out of 19.42 Crore rural households in the country, approximately 15.52 Crore (79.91%) households are reported to have tap water supply. As reported by the State of Tamil Nadu, at the start of JJM in the State on 15.08.2019, only 21.76 lakh (17.37%) rural households had tap water connections. Since then, around 89.07 lakh additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections. Thus, as on 10.03.2025, out of 1.25  Crore  rural  households  in  the  state,  the  provision  of  tap  water  supply  is  available  to approximately 1.11 Crore (88.47%) rural households.

Similarly, as reported by UT of Ladakh, at the start of JJM as on 15.08.2019, only 1,414 (3.48%) rural households had tap water connections. Since then, around 0.38 lakh additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections. Thus, as on 10.03.2025, out of 0.41 lakh rural households  in  Ladakh,  the  provision  of  tap  water  supply  is  available  to  more  than  0.39  lakh (96.41%) rural households. The district wise details of tap water connections provided in Tamil Nadu and Ladakh is at annexure - I.

- (b) The details of fund allocation, fund drawn and reported fund utilization during the last five years (2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24) and current financial year 2024-25 (as on

(Amount in Rs. Crore)

|        |          | Central share   | Central share   | Central share   | Central share   | Central share   |                         |
|--------|----------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-------------------------|
| S. No. | Year     | Opening Balance | Fund allocated  | Fund Drawn      | Available fund  | Expenditure     | State Share Expenditure |
| 1      | 2019-20  | 1.49            | 373.87          | 373.10          | 374.59          | 114.58          | 99.14                   |
| 2      | 2020-21  | 264.09          | 921.99          | 690.36          | 954.45          | 576.87          | 399.57                  |
| 3      | 2021-22  | 377.58          | 3,691.21        | 614.35          | 991.93          | 457.63          | 496.16                  |
| 4      | 2022-23  | 534.30          | 4,015.00        | 872.96          | 1,407.26        | 593.71          | 664.36                  |
| 5      | 2023-24  | 813.55          | 3,615.56        | 2,617.10        | 3,430.65        | 2,617.49        | 2,612.30                |
| 6      | 2024-25* | 813.15          | 2,438.89        | 731.67          | 1,544.82        | 1,297.47        | 1,452.38                |
| Total  | Total    |                 | 15,056.52       | 5,899.54        | 5,901.03        | 5,657.75        | 5,723.91                |

Source: JJM-IMIS                                                                                          *as on 10.03.2025

The details of fund allocation, fund drawn and reported fund utilization during the last five years (2019-20,  2020-21,  2021-22,  2022-23  and  2023-24)  and  current  financial  year  2024-25  (as  on 10.03.2025) by the UT of Ladakh are as under:

(Amount in Rs. Crore)

|        |          | Central share   | Central share   | Central share   | Central share   | Central share   |
|--------|----------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
| S. No. | Year     | Opening Balance | Fund allocated  | Fund Drawn      | Available fund  | Expenditure     |
| 1      | 2019-20  | 8.10            | 166.65          | 67.86           | 75.96           | 0.61            |
| 2      | 2020-21  | 75.96           | 352.09          | -               | 75.96           | 9.43            |
| 3      | 2021-22  | 66.52           | 1,429.96        | 340.68          | 407.20          | 144.96          |
| 4      | 2022-23  | 262.25          | 1,555.77        | 382.76          | 645.01          | 364.34          |
| 5      | 2023-24  | 280.66          | 477.11          | 131.07          | 411.73          | 346.73          |
| 6      | 2024-25* | 65.00           | 624.78          | 187.43          | 252.43          | 60.78           |
| Total  | Total    |                 | 4,606.36        | 1,109.80        | 1,117.90        | 926.85          |

Source: JJM-IMIS                                                                                          *as on 10.03.2025

- (c) As reported by state of Tamil Nadu on JJM IMIS, as on date, around 14.44 lakh rural households are yet to be provided tap water connections, which the state aims to cover by September 2028. Similarly, in Ladakh, 1,461 rural households are yet to be provided with tap water connections, which the UT government has planned to cover by December 2025.
- (d) State/UTs have informed that lack of dependable drinking water sources in water-stressed, drought prone and desert areas, presence of geo-genic contaminants in ground water, uneven geographical terrain, scattered rural habitations, delay in release of the matching State share in some States, lack of technical capacity with implementing agencies, Gram Panchayats and local communities to plan,

manage,  operate  &  maintain  the  water  supply  schemes,  rising  price  of  raw  materials,  delay  in obtaining statutory/ other clearances, etc. are a few of problems being faced in the implementation of the Mission. Further, CoVID-19 pandemic and poor availability of raw materials especially DI/ HDPE pipes due to Russia-Ukraine military conflict have also impacted the pace of implementation in the States.

To address the challenges holistically and overcome these, Government of India has taken a number of steps, inter alia including implementation of Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure through  Ministry  of  Finance  for  financial  assistance  as  50-year  interest  free  loan  for  capital investment projects to assist them to provide matching state share to  maintain assured and adequate availability  of  pipes  at  reasonable  price,  nomination  of  a  nodal  officer  in  the  Department  for coordinating  with  Central  nodal  Ministries/  Departments/  agencies  to  facilitate  the  States  in obtaining Statutory/ other clearances, setting up of State Programme Management Units (SPMUs) and  District  Programme  Management  Units  (DPMUs)  and  implementation  of  ' Nal  Jal  Mitra Programme ' for ensuring availability of skilled local persons at village level to bridge the gap in availability of technical skill sets and HR for programme management.

- (e) 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 JJM. To achieve this objective, following provisions have been made in operational guidelines for the implementation of JJM:
- i.) Any water supply scheme undertaken under JJM is approved only after the recommendation of a Source Finding Committee of the respective state government, to the effect that the identified  water  source  through  which  the  scheme  is  planned,  has  sufficient  yield  for sustaining water supply as per required norm, for the scheme design period.
- ii.) Development/ strengthening/ augmentation of drinking water sources and infrastructure for bulk transfer of water, treatment, and distribution systems in water deficit drought-prone and desert areas without dependable ground water sources apart from creation of in-village water supply infrastructure.
- iii.) 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.

Jal  Shakti  Abhiyaan  -  Catch  the  rain  campaign,  in  its  different  editions,  focused  on  water conservation and rainwater harvesting structures, renovation of traditional water bodies, reuse and recharge  structures,  watershed  development,  etc.  Further,  a  special  initiative  Jal  Sanchay  Jan Bhagidari  (JSJB)  under  JSA:  CTR  has  been  launched  on  September  6,  2024,  which  aims  to promote collaborative  community-driven water  conservation  efforts  and  focuses  on  enhancing water management through low-cost, scientifically designed artificial recharge structures, ensuring active participation from local communities, industries, and other stakeholders.

National Water Mission (NWM) has developed a guidance document titled "Simple and Practical Methods of Artificial Recharge of Groundwater Augmentation" in the form of FAQs to provide technical  support.  Information,  Education,  and  Communication  (IEC)  activities  have  also  been undertaken to spread awareness about the initiative. A monitoring and evaluation framework has also been established through the Jal Sanchay Dashboard, which tracks progress with geo-tagged

locations of recharge structures. CWC and CGWB also provide technical assistance for the creation and renovation of recharge structures to improve groundwater augmentation efforts.

Under  SBM-G,  support  is  provided  for  management  of  greywater  generated  from  kitchen  and bathroom. Soak pits are the preferred method to manage greywater in the rural areas. However, States have the flexibility to choose the technology option best suited for local conditions. For grey water management (GWM) in rural areas, the State of Tamil Nadu is having both community as well as household level interventions. As on date, there are more than 20 Lakh  individual household level assets and more than 1 lakh community assets in place across the state.  The community assets include soak pits/Leach pits/Magic pits, drainage channels and GWM systems.

(f) Under  the  Jal  Jeevan  Mission,  as  per  existing  guidelines,  Bureau  of  Indian  Standards' publication BIS:10500 are adopted as benchmark for ensuring the quality of water being supplied through the piped water supply schemes. States/UTs have been advised to carry out testing of water quality on a periodic basis at different sample collection points and take remedial action wherever necessary, to ensure that the water supplied to households is of prescribed quality. To enable States/ UTs to test water samples for water quality, and for sample collection, reporting, monitoring and surveillance of drinking water sources, an online JJM - Water Quality Management Information System (WQMIS) portal has been developed. The State-wise details of water quality test reported by States/ UTs including Ladakh through WQMIS are available in public domain on JJM Dashboard and can also be accessed at:

## https://ejalshakti.gov.in/WQMIS/Main/report

A 'Citizen Corner' was also developed on the JJM Dashboard. The corner included display of water quality test results in the public domain to further create awareness and build confidence among people about the quality of water supplies through the PWS in rural areas. For the period 2021-22 to 2024-25, a total of 28,344 samples have been tested for the UT of Ladakh.

- (g) To  ensure  the  quality  of  the  works  under  JJM,  third  party  inspection  and  certification  before payment  is  mandatory.  For  the  purpose,  States  have  been  empowered  to  empanel  third  party inspection  agencies  (TPIA)  to  check  the  quality  of  work  executed  by  the  agencies,  quality  of materials used for construction and quality of machinery installed in each of the scheme.  The grievances/ complaints which inter-alia includes poor quality of works under JJM are handled and disposed of at the State/ UT level. Such complaints/ representations as and when received in this department  are  forwarded  to  the  concerned  state  government  for  taking  necessary  corrective measures. Further, Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation undertakes several measures such as  functionality  assessment,  ground  truthing  by  National  WASH  Experts,  call-based  feedback from complainant, field visits by National Teams, status review in meetings, etc. to ensure that the complaints related to quality of works are addressed by the State/UT.

To expedite the provision of tap water connections to all rural households in the country including Tamil  Nadu  and  Ladakh,  concerted  efforts have  been  made  to  accelerate  the  pace of implementation of JJM on ground. These include measures such as holding high level joint review meetings with the State government on regular basis and visits of multi-disciplinary teams from the department to highlight areas which need attention for expediting implementation in a mission mode to make provision of tap water supply to all households in a time bound manner.

*****

## District-wise status of tap water connections in Tamil Nadu

| AS. No.   | District        | Total rural HHs (No in Lakh)   | Rural HHs with tap water connection as on 15/08/2019 (No in Lakh)   | Rural HHs with tap water connection as on 15/08/2019 (No in Lakh)   | Total Rural HHs with tap water supply as on 10/03/2025 (No in Lakh)   | Total Rural HHs with tap water supply as on 10/03/2025 (No in Lakh)   |
|-----------|-----------------|--------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| AS. No.   | District        | Total rural HHs (No in Lakh)   | No.                                                                 | In%                                                                 | No.                                                                   | In%                                                                   |
| 1.        | Ariyalur        | 2.08                           | 0.58                                                                | 27.73                                                               | 2.08                                                                  | 100                                                                   |
| 2.        | Chengalpattu    | 4.16                           | 0.44                                                                | 10.60                                                               | 4.15                                                                  | 99.85                                                                 |
| 3.        | Coimbatore      | 3.73                           | 1.87                                                                | 50.26                                                               | 3.73                                                                  | 100                                                                   |
| 4.        | Cuddalore       | 5.22                           | 0.63                                                                | 12.31                                                               | 5.22                                                                  | 100                                                                   |
| 5.        | Dharmapuri      | 3.43                           | 0.02                                                                | 0.60                                                                | 2.07                                                                  | 60.48                                                                 |
| 6.        | Dindigul        | 4.53                           | 1.03                                                                | 22.53                                                               | 3.94                                                                  | 87.09                                                                 |
| 7.        | Erode           | 4.19                           | 0.64                                                                | 15.38                                                               | 3.90                                                                  | 93                                                                    |
| 8.        | Kallakurichi    | 3.02                           | 0.02                                                                | 0.69                                                                | 1.84                                                                  | 60.86                                                                 |
| 9.        | Kanchipuram     | 2.16                           | 0.59                                                                | 27.23                                                               | 2.16                                                                  | 100                                                                   |
| 10.       | Kanyakumari     | 2.17                           | 0.79                                                                | 36.66                                                               | 2.17                                                                  | 100                                                                   |
| 11.       | Karur           | 2.04                           | 0.41                                                                | 20.14                                                               | 1.86                                                                  | 90.82                                                                 |
| 12.       | Krishnagiri     | 4.09                           | 0.05                                                                | 1.26                                                                | 2.97                                                                  | 72.5                                                                  |
| 13.       | Madurai         | 4.49                           | 0.55                                                                | 12.27                                                               | 4.19                                                                  | 93.29                                                                 |
| 14.       | Mayiladuthurai  | 2.03                           | -                                                                   | 0.00                                                                | 2.03                                                                  | 100                                                                   |
| 15.       | Nagapattinam    | 1.57                           | 0.23                                                                | 14.50                                                               | 0.93                                                                  | 59.23                                                                 |
| 16.       | Namakkal        | 3.62                           | 0.59                                                                | 16.66                                                               | 3.62                                                                  | 100                                                                   |
| 17.       | Nilgiris        | 1.47                           | 0.04                                                                | 4.36                                                                | 1.37                                                                  | 93.21                                                                 |
| 18.       | Perambalur      | 3.70                           | 0.19                                                                | 12.88                                                               | 2.21                                                                  | 59.86                                                                 |
| 19.       | Pudukkottai     | 3.33                           | 0.52                                                                | 14.06                                                               | 1.14                                                                  | 34.27                                                                 |
| 20.       | Ramanathapur    | 1.89                           | 0.30                                                                | 9.09                                                                | 1.89                                                                  | 100                                                                   |
| 21.       | am Ranipet      | 6.46                           | 0.86                                                                | 45.23                                                               | 5.70                                                                  | 88.23                                                                 |
| 22.       | Salem           | 3.27                           | 0.53                                                                | 8.11                                                                | 2.54                                                                  | 77.53                                                                 |
| 23.       | Sivaganga       | 3.42                           | 0.58                                                                | 17.35                                                               | 2.45                                                                  | 71.45                                                                 |
| 24.       | Tenkasi         | 4.22                           | 0.65                                                                | 18.96                                                               | 4.22                                                                  | 100                                                                   |
| 25.       | Thanjavur       | 0.97                           | 1.51                                                                | 35.84                                                               | 0.97                                                                  | 100                                                                   |
| 26.       | Theni           | 1.85                           | 0.55                                                                | 29.53                                                               | 1.85                                                                  | 100                                                                   |
| 27.       | Thoothukudi     | 4.76                           | 0.37                                                                | 10.34                                                               | 4.76                                                                  | 100                                                                   |
| 28.       | Tiruchirappalli | 3.05                           | 1.29                                                                | 27.20                                                               | 2.47                                                                  | 80.93                                                                 |
| 29.       | Tirunelveli     | 3.66                           | 0.41                                                                | 14.31                                                               | 3.21                                                                  | 87.8                                                                  |

| AS. No.   | District      | Total rural HHs (No in Lakh)   | Rural HHs with tap water connection as on 15/08/2019 (No in Lakh)   | Rural HHs with tap water connection as on 15/08/2019 (No in Lakh)   | Total Rural HHs with tap water supply as on 10/03/2025 (No in Lakh)   | Total Rural HHs with tap water supply as on 10/03/2025 (No in Lakh)   |
|-----------|---------------|--------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| AS. No.   | District      | Total rural HHs (No in Lakh)   | No.                                                                 | In%                                                                 | No.                                                                   | In%                                                                   |
| 30.       | Tirupathur    | 4.72                           | 0.67                                                                | 30.94                                                               | 4.45                                                                  | 94.15                                                                 |
| 31.       | Tiruppur      | 2.80                           | 1.56                                                                | 34.20                                                               | 2.45                                                                  | 87.41                                                                 |
| 32.       | Tiruvallur    | 2.13                           | 0.58                                                                | 12.27                                                               | 2.10                                                                  | 98.82                                                                 |
| 33.       | Tiruvannamala | 4.56                           | 0.85                                                                | 16.07                                                               | 4.26                                                                  | 93.3                                                                  |
| 34.       | i Tiruvarur   | 5.30                           | 0.64                                                                | 20.94                                                               | 5.27                                                                  | 99.43                                                                 |
| 35.       | Vellore       | 2.13                           | 0.73                                                                | 34.24                                                               | 2.13                                                                  | 100                                                                   |
| 36.       | Villupuram    | 4.37                           | 0.05                                                                | 1.18                                                                | 4.25                                                                  | 97.11                                                                 |
| 37.       | Virudhunagar  | 4.69                           | 0.44                                                                | 9.34                                                                | 4.31                                                                  | 91.86                                                                 |
|           | Total         | 125.28                         | 21.76                                                               | 17.36                                                               | 110.83                                                                | 88.47                                                                 |

## District-wise status of tap water connections in Ladakh

| S. No.   | District   | Total rural HHs   | Rural HHs with tap water connection as on 15/08/2019   | Rural HHs with tap water connection as on 15/08/2019   | Total Rural HHs with tap water supply as on 10/03/2025   | Total Rural HHs with tap water supply as on 10/03/2025   |
|----------|------------|-------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|
| S. No.   | District   | Total rural HHs   | No.                                                    | In%                                                    | No.                                                      | In%                                                      |
| 1.       | Leh Ladakh | 21,719            | 1,246                                                  | 5.74                                                   | 21,469                                                   | 98.85                                                    |
| 2.       | Kargil     | 18,952            | 168                                                    | 0.89                                                   | 17,741                                                   | 93.61                                                    |
|          | Total      | 40,671            | 1,414                                                  | 3.48                                                   | 39,210                                                   | 96.41                                                    |