Lok Sabha Question No. 2517 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-13
Subject: Tap Water Connections to Rural Households under JJM
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Sukhdeo Bhagat

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2517

ANSWERED ON 13.03.2025

## TAP WATER CONNECTIONS TO RURAL HOUSEHOLDS UNDER JJM

## 2517. SHRI SUKHDEO BHAGAT:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Jal Jeevan  Mission (JJM) aimed to provide tap water connections to all  rural households by the year 2024 and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether only ten crore households have been covered as on October, 2023, falling short of the target by over six crore and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether more than thirty per cent of the installed infrastructure is already facing issues with water quality and sustainability despite a significant budget allocation of rupees fifty-five thousand crore for the year 2023-24 and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore and International Labour Organisation have  raised  concerns  that  the  implementation  of  the  mission  has  failed  to  generate  the  projected fifty-nine lakh ninety thousand person-year of employment and if so, the details thereof;
- (e) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to address the failure in meeting the targets of the said mission; and
- (f) the measures undertaken/being undertaken to ensure long-term sustainability and employment generation under JJM and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (c)        To  make  provision  of  tap  water  supply  to  every  rural  household  across  the  country, Government of India in partnership with States, is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)  - Har Ghar Jal since August 2019.

At the start the Mission, only 3.23 Crore (16.7%) rural households were reported to have tap water connections. So far, as reported by States/ UTs as on 06.03.2025, under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) Har  Ghar  Jal  around  12.28  Crore  additional  rural  households  have  been  provided  with  tap  water

connections. Thus, as on 06.03.2025, out of 19.36 Crore rural households in the country, more than 15.51 Crore (80.07%) households are reported to have tap water supply in their homes and works for the remaining 3.85 Crore households are at various stages of completion as per saturation plan of the respective State/ UT.

Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation undertakes annual assessment of the functionality of household tap water  connections  provided  under  the  Mission,  through  an  independent  third-party agency, based on standard statistical sampling. During the  Functionality Assessment 2022, it was found that 86% of households (HHs) had working tap connections. Out of these, 85% were getting water in adequate quantity, 80% were getting water regularly as per the schedule of water supply for their piped water supply scheme, and 87% of households were receiving water as per the prescribed water quality standards. A copy of Functionality Assessment 2022 is in public domain and can be accessed at https://jaljeevanmission.gov.in/functionality-reports.

(d)  to  (f)      For  developing  in-village  water  supply  infrastructure,  water  resource  management, source  strengthening/  augmentation,  distribution  network,  treatment  plant,  etc.,  unskilled,  semiskilled and skilled human resource is required in rural areas. Moreover, there has been procurement of  material  for  the  construction  of  water  supply  schemes  therein  generating  employment  at different levels throughout the country, boosting the manufacturing activities, thus, the economy and in the long run will enhance 'ease of living' in rural areas.

Under  Jal  Jeevan  Mission,  efforts  are  being  made  to  bring  improvements  in  the  lives  of  rural people by providing potable tap water supply to rural households. With  the prioritized implementation of the Mission across the country, positive impacts are being assessed by reputed national and international institutions/ individuals. A few of these are listed as under:

- i. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that achieving saturation under JJM will  result  in  savings  of  more  than  5.5  Crore  hours  of  time  every  day,  which  is otherwise spent in collection of water for household needs, primarily for women.
- ii. The  World  Health  Organization  (WHO)  has  also  estimated  that  ensuring  safely managed drinking water for all households in the country could prevent nearly 400,000 deaths  caused  by  diarrheal  diseases  leading  to  savings  of  approximately  14  million Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) on account of the lives so saved.
- iii. Nobel laureate Prof. Michael Kremer has published a research paper and has concluded that the implementation of JJM with coverage for all rural households with safe water, is likely to lead to almost 30% reduction in mortality among children below the age of five years, amounting to1,36,000 lives saved annually.

- iv. The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, in partnership with International Labour Organisation (ILO) has estimated the employment potential of JJM. The report released by  the  two  institutions  estimates  that  implementation  of  the  Jal  Jeevan  Mission  shall result  in  59.9  lakh  person-years  of  direct  and  2.2  Crore  person-years  of  indirect employment during the capex phase of JJM. Furthermore, the operation and maintenance  of  the  Mission  is  likely  to  generate  13.3  lakh  person-years  of  direct employment.

Further,  to  ensure  long  term  sustainability  of  infrastructure  created,  quality  material  and  quality construction  is  being  ensured  through  third  party  inspection  before  making  payment.  Moreover, measurement and monitoring of water supply in villages through sensor-based IoT solution, linking AADHAR  of  the  head  of  household  for  targeted  delivery  subject  to  statutory  provisions,  geotagging of assets created, etc. are also provisioned under JJM.

Further, to bring transparency and effective monitoring, an online 'JJM dashboard' & mobile App has been created, which provides State/ UT, district, and village-wise progress as well as status of provision of tap water supply to rural homes.

Provisions  for  taking  up  augmentation  and  strengthening  of  local  drinking  water  sources  in convergence with other schemes viz. MGNREGS, 15th Finance Commission grants to Rural Local Bodies (RLBs)/ Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), State schemes, MP/ MLA-LAD funds, District Mineral Development Fund, CSR funds, community contribution, etc. have also been envisaged under the JJM.

In  addition, a number of steps have been taken to plan and implement JJM in the whole country, with  speed, inter  alia ,  including  joint  discussions  and  finalization  of  saturation  plans  and  annual action  plans  of  States/  UTs,  regular  review  of  implementation,  workshops/  conferences/  webinars for capacity building, training, knowledge sharing, field visits by multi-disciplinary team to provide technical support, etc. A detailed Operational Guideline for the implementation of JJM; Margdarshika for Gram Panchayats & VWSCs to provide safe drinking water in rural households and  Guidelines  on  a  special  campaign  to  provide  piped  water  supply  in  anganwadi  centres, ashramshalas and schools have been shared with States/ UTs  to facilitate planning and implementation  of  Jal  Jeevan  Mission.  For  online  monitoring,  JJM-Integrated  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).

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