Lok Sabha Question No. 2939 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-12
Subject: Shortage of Water in Rajasthan
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Brijendra Singh Ola

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

## DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER & SANITATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2939

ANSWERED ON 12/12/2024

## SHORTAGE OF WATER IN RAJASTHAN

## †2939. SHRI BRIJENDRA SINGH OLA:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the action plan being implemented by the Government to provide drinking water in the country, State-wise including Rajasthan;
- (b) whether the Government is aware of the fact that most of the districts of Rajasthan including Jhunjhunu are facing shortage of water for drinking/agricultural purpose and if so, the details thereof along with the budget allocated for the said purpose, district-wise; and
- (c) the roadmap prepared to provide water to the said districts?

## 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,  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.

A number of steps have been taken to plan and implement JJM in the whole country including Rajasthan with speed, inter  alia which includes finalization of saturation plan and annual action plan (AAP) of respective State/ UT, regular review of implementation, workshops/ conferences/  webinars  for  capacity  building,  trainings,  knowledge  sharing,  field  visits  by multi-disciplinary teams to provide technical support, etc. A detailed Operational Guidelines for the implementation of JJM and Margdarshika for Gram Panchayats & VWSCs to provide safe  drinking  water  in  rural  households  have  been  shared  with  States/  UTs,  including Rajasthan to facilitate planning and implementation of JJM. For online monitoring, JJMIntegrated  Management  Information  System  (IMIS)  and  JJM-Dashboard  has  been  put  in place. Provision has also been made for transparent online financial management through Public Financial Management System (PFMS).

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  as  on  10.12.2024,  around  12.11  crore  additional  rural  households  have  been provided with tap water connections under JJM. Thus, as on 10.12.2024, out of 19.35 crore rural households in the country, approximately 15.34 crore (79.30%) households are reported to have tap water supply.

- (b) and (c) The state government of Rajasthan has informed that Rajasthan faces significant challenges in groundwater availability in districts like Jhunjhunu, Churu and Sikar lacking potable groundwater resources for their rural population. To address this issue, the state has developed a long-term sustainability roadmap, focusing on connecting 90% of the population to  surface  water  through  Mega  Water  Supply  projects  utilizing  dams  and  surface  water sources.  This  strategic  shift  aims  to  ensure  reliable  and  sustainable  water  access  to  rural population in the state.

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,  47.23  lakh  additional  rural  households  have  been  provided  with  tap  water connections. Thus, as on 10.12.2024, out of 107.33 lakh 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 10.12.2024) 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             | 996.35                    |

Source: JJM-IMIS                                                                                   *as on 10.12.2024

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