Every drop counts

Source– The post is based on the article “Every drop counts” published in The Hindu on 4th October 2022.

Syllabus: GS2- Government schemes

News– The article explains the current status of the Jal Jeevan Scheme.

Main target of Jal Jeevan Mission is to ensure that at least 55 liters per person per day of potable water is available to every rural household.

What is the status of the Jal Jeevan Mission?

The government claims that 10.2 crore households or 53% of the population now have tap water access. This is a 37% increase from 2019.

A recent audit by a private agency found that around 62% of rural households in India had fully functional tap water connections.

A report of a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources stated that 46% of households had fully functional tap water connections.

What are the main observations from the survey?

The survey shows wide disparities in achievement. Some states like Tami Nadu and Himachal have 80% of households with fully functional connections. While some states like Rajasthan and Kerala have less than half of households with such connections.

About 75% of households received water every day of the week, and only 8% just once a week.

The report mentions a problem of chlorine contamination. Most of the anganwadi centers and schools had higher than the permissible range of residual chlorine.

Only 3% of rural households were surveyed by the agency for the updated figures. There is a possibility that the margin of error may be substantial.