Lok Sabha Question No. 1777 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-08-01
Subject: Jal Jeevan Mission
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri N K Premachandran

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO - 1777 ANSWERED ON 01/08/2024

## JAL JEEVAN MISSION

## 1777.  SHRI N K PREMACHANDRAN

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government proposes to provide adequate quantity of safe drinking water through the tap water connection provided under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) and if so, the details of action taken thereon;

(b) whether the Government proposes to increase the production of drinking water by setting up new water sources and treatment plants and if so, the details of action taken thereon;

(c) whether it comes to the notice of the Government that the existing water supply schemes are not sufficient to supply water through the pipe connection given through JJM and if so, the action taken thereon;

(d) whether the Government proposes to provide fund for new water treatment plant and water resources and if so, the details thereof; and

(e) the reason for delay in implementation of the scheme in Kerala particularly in Kollam district?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## (SHRI V. SOMANNA)

(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 States/ UTs, in August 2019 to provide tap water supply to every rural household. Significant progress has been made in the country since the launch of Jal Jeevan Mission, towards enhancing access to tap water to rural households. At the start of Jal Jeevan Mission 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 29.07.2024, around 11.78 Crore additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections under JJM. Thus, as on 29.07.2024, out of 19.32 Crore rural households in the country, around 15.02 Crore (77.76%) rural households are reported to have tap water supply in their homes and the remaining 4.30 Crore are likely to be covered within the mission period.

(b)  and  (c)    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 al Jeevan Mission, lies with State/ UT Governments. The Government of India supports  the  States  by  providing  technical  and  financial  assistance.  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 incharge of Public Health Engineering (PHE)/ Rural Water Supply (RWS) Department, approves the schemes/ projects being taken up under JJM. Also, 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.

(d) To achieve the objective of the mission, components envisaged under JJM, inter-alia , include:

- i.) Development of reliable drinking water sources and/ or augmentation of existing sources to provide long-term sustainability to water supply system.
- ii.) Bulk water transfer, treatment plants and distribution network.
- iii.) Technological interventions for removal of contaminants where water quality is an issue.

For this, funds are allocated to States/ UTs as per approved criteria for fund allocation. While allocating the funds to States/ UTs, 10% weightage is being given to the population residing in habitations affected by chemical contaminants.

(e) To monitor the implementation of JJM, Government of India takes various measures such as holding joint review meetings with the state government on regular basis and visits of multi-disciplinary teams from the department to highlight areas of concern such as need to strengthen project planning, implementation, monitoring and to expedite the implementation in a mission mode to make provision of tap water supply to rural all households. During such review meetings, the state government of Kerala has informed that one of the main reasons for delay  in  the  award  of  works  for  JJM  is  difficulties  in  land  acquisition  for  the  various components of the new water supply schemes. The State Government has also informed that various clearances from forest, NHAI, Railways, Ministry of Road & Transport Highways are pending  with  respect  to  drinking  water  project/  schemes  which  have  also  affected  the implementation of JJM in the State. The Department has setup a special cell for coordinating and following-up with these agencies/ authorities for timely clearances.  Now, the state has awarded most of the works under JJM.

In Kollam district of Kerala, as on 15.08.2019, only 1.37 lakh rural households were reported to have tap water connections. Since then, around 3.00 Lakh additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections in the district. Thus, as on 29.07.2024, out of 6.12 Lakh  rural  households  in  the  Kollam  district,  around  4.37  Lakh  (71.45%)  households  are reported to have tap water supply in their homes with the district having the highest coverage of tap water connections in the state.

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