Lok Sabha Question No. 97 (STARRED), answered on 2024-02-08
Subject: Tap Water Connections under JJM
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shrirang Appa Barne, Sanjay Sadashivrao Mandlik

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

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 97 TO BE ANSWERED ON 08/02/2024

## Tap Water Connections under JJM

## *97. SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE:

## SHRI SANJAY SADASHIVRAO MANDLIK:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a)   the  total  number  of  tap  water  connections  provided  by  the  Government  under  Jal  Jeevan Mission (JJM) in the country till date;
- (b)  whether the Government proposes to complete the JJM by the end of the current year and if so, the details thereof;
- (c)   the details of the States in which cent percent households have been provided the tap water connection under JJM along with the steps being taken to provide tap water connection to the States lagging behind;
- (d)  whether the Government proposes to constitute a regulatory body to take decision on issues related  to  water  surveillance,  water  management  etc.  in  the  country  and  if  so,  the  details thereof;
- (e)   whether the Union Government has held any consultation with State Governments in this regard and if so, the details thereof; and
- (f)   whether  the  Bureau  of  water  use  efficiency  has  published  a  report  regarding  water management and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF JAL SHAKTI (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)

(a) to (f) A statement is laid on the table of the House.

## Statement  referred  in  reply  of  Lok  Sabha  Starred  Question  No.  97  to  be  answered  on 08.02.2024

(a)  to  (c)  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), to be implemented in partnership with states, 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  the  Jal  Jeevan Mission,  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  Jal  Jeevan  Mission, towards enhancing access to tap water to rural households. At the time of announcement of Jal Jeevan Mission in August 2019, only 3.23 Crore (17%) rural households were reported to have tap  water  connections.  So  far,  as  reported  by  States/  UTs  as  on  04.02.2024,  additional  11.01 Crore rural households have been provided with tap water connections under JJM. Thus, as on 04.02.2024, out of 19.27 Crore rural households in the country, more than 14.24 Crore (73.93%) households are reported to have tap water supply in their homes and the remaining 5.03 Crore are likely to be covered within the Mission Period.

As  on  04.02.2024,  9  States/  UTs  Goa,  Gujarat,  Haryana,  Himachal  Pradesh,  Punjab  and Telangana, A&N Islands, Dadra Nagar Haveli & Daman Diu and Puducherry had become 'Har Ghar Jal State/ UTs' i.e. 100% rural households are having tap water supply.

A number of steps have been taken to plan and implement JJM in the whole country, with speed, inter alia ,  which includes joint discussion and finalization of saturation plan and annual action plan (AAP) 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).

(d)  to  (f)  As  informed  by  Department  of  Water  Resources,  River  Development  and  Ganga Rejuvenation,  water  being  a  state  subject,  the  regulation  and  management  of  ground  water  is primarily  the  responsibility  of  State  governments.  However,  under  this  Ministry,  the  Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) has been constituted under section 3(3) of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 for the purpose of regulation and control of ground water development and management in the country. Abstraction cum use of Groundwater in the country is regulated by  CGWA  in  19  States/UTs by  way  of  issuing  NOCs  as  per  the  provisions  of  its  notified guidelines  vide  SO.  No.  3289  (E)  dated  24.09.2020  and  amendments  thereto  vide  SO  No. 1509(E) which have pan India applicability. Further,17 States/UTs have put in place their own regulatory  mechanism  for  regulating  ground  water  abstraction  cum  usage  in  their  respective jurisdiction.  Further,  the  CGWA  Guidelines  stipulate  that  state  guidelines/regulatory  orders,

wherever enacted cannot be inconsistent with or dilute the provisions of the former. The detailed CGWA guidelines is available on the public domain.

https://cgwa- noc.gov.in/LandingPage/Guidlines/NewGuidelinesNotified250920.pdf#ZOOM=100

Moreover,  to  achieve  the  target  of  improvement  in  water  use  efficiency  (WUE)  by  20%,  a dedicated  organization  has  been  set  up  as  Bureau  of  Water  use  Efficiency  (BWUE)  under National  Water  Mission  during  October,  2022  to  work  on  mission  mode.  Bureau  acts  as  a facilitator  for  promotion  of  improving  water  use  efficiency  across  various  sectors  namely irrigation,  drinking  water  supply,  power  generation,  industries,  etc.  in  the  country.  No  such report has been published so far by the bureau.

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