Jal Jeevan Mission makes significant strides in 3 years since inception

Around 52% of rural households have been provided piped water supply till August

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the progress made in providing piped water connection to rural areas under the ‘Har Ghar Jal’ scheme was a symbol of the country’s strong resolve and self-belief.

“Providing electricity connection to [25 million] people in such a short time is not a small achievement, while lakhs of people are getting tapped water connection as part of the ‘Nal se Jal’ scheme, and open defecation free status has all been made possible today,” Modi said in his Independence Day speech.

The ‘Har Ghar Jal’ scheme under the broader Jal Jeevan Mission has been a flagship programme of the Modi government in its second stint.

Announced on August 15, 2019, around 52.20 per cent of rural households have been provided tap water supply till August 2022.

At the time of the Jal Jeevan Mission’s inception, barely 3.23 million rural families, or 17 per cent of the rural population, had access to drinking water from taps. In the speech in 2019, Modi had also announced creation of a dedicated Ministry of Jal Shakti to address challenges of water availability.

Modi had said that the Centre and state governments would together take forward the Jal Jeevan Mission, and over Rs 3.5 trillion has been earmarked for this.

The Centre is aiming to provide clean drinking water to every rural household so that all 600,000 villages get piped water by 2024.

For financial year 2022-23, the Centre has allocated Rs 60,000 crore for the Jal Jeevan Mission, compared with the revised estimate of Rs 45,011 crore in FY22.

For FY21, FY20, and FY19, the actual Budget spending for the Jal Jeevan Mission/ National Rural Drinking Water Mission was Rs 10,999 crore, Rs 10,030 crore, and Rs 5,384 crore, respectively.

In the Budget Speech for 2021-22, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced that the Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban) will be launched.

This would aim to provide water supply to all 4,378 urban local bodies, which have 28.6 million tap connections, as well as liquid waste management in 500 AMRUT cities.

It will be implemented over five years, with an outlay of Rs 2.87 trillion. India’s primary user of water stock is agriculture, and 80-90 per cent of the drinking water needs in rural India are met by groundwater resources.

What is concerning is that groundwater levels in India dropped by more than 60 per cent between 2007 and 2017, and about 90 per cent of the extracted water was used for agriculture.

According to a 2019 NITI Aayog report, India is experiencing the biggest water crisis in its history and about 600 million people lack access to clean water.

The Jal Jeevan Mission takes a community-based approach. The programme is also working towards implementing source sustainability measures as mandatory elements, such as recharge and reuse through grey water management, water conservation, and rainwater harvesting.

Jal Jeevan Mission
FY23 Budget Estimate (in Rs crore)	FY22 Revised Estimate (in Rs crore)	FY21 Actuals (in Rs crore)	FY20 Actuals (in Rs crore)	FY19 Actuals (in Rs crore)
60,000	45,011	10,999	10,030	5,484

Source: Budget Documents

Some of the significant components of the Jal Jeevan Mission:
Tap water supply
Water quality ensuring safe drinking water to reduce water-borne ailments
Community engagement in planning
Promote groundwater recharge & water conservation
Greywater management
Women empowerment
Skill development & employment generation
Focus on the future generation