Highest 90% households covered in Reasi
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 9: Approximately 77% of the rural households in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir have been provided the access to tap water connections.
This information was tabled in the Lok Sabha by the Minister of State (MoS) in the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, on Thursday, in reply to an unstarred question of Member Parliaments Jugal Kishore Sharma and Geeta Kora.
“As of February 6, 2024, out of 18.72 lakh rural households in Jammu and Kashmir, around 14.35 lakh (76.70%) have been provided with tap water connections under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM),” the Union Minister told the lower house of the Parliament.
Highlighting the journey of JJM’s implementation, the Minister noted that at the program’s inception in August 2019, only 30.75% of rural households in Jammu and Kashmir had tap water connections.
“However, over the last four years, an impressive 8.60 lakh additional rural households in the region have been equipped with tap water connections,” he said.
Replying another question of the BJP MP Jugal Kishore Sharma about the progress achieved under the Mission in Jammu Parliamentary Constituency (PC), formerly Jammu-Poonch Parliamentary Constituency, the Union Minister said that Reasi District has achieved a significant progress, where 69, 917 out of total 77, 477 rural households (90.24%) have been provided with the tap water connections.
Samba District followed the list where 50, 844 out of 61, 713 (82.38%) rural households have been given the access to tap water connections while Rajouri District is third in the table where 82, 257 out of 1, 33, 201 (61.75%) of the rural households have the access to the tap water connectivity and Jammu District is last in the list where 1, 07, 442 out of 1, 86, 725 rural households (57.54%) have been provided the tap water connectivity, the Minister said.
The Union Minister further emphasized the Government’s unwavering commitment to ensuring safe and portable tap water supply to all rural households across the nation.
Nationally, he said, the mission has seen substantial advancement since its inception, with around 11.02 crore additional rural households gaining access to tap water connections as reported by the states and Union Territories.
“At the outset of the Jal Jeevan Mission in August 2019, only 16.8% of rural households were reported to have tap water connections. Today, approximately 73.98% of rural households in the country, out of 19.27 crore, are reported to have tap water supply,” added Minister Chandrasekhar.
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