Ever wondered what is the most precious gift mother nature has provided humans with? ... it is water, life line of all species.
Clean, safe drinking water has however become scarce due to climate changes and various other factors. Today, nearly 1 billion people in the developing world don't have access to it. Yet, we take it for granted, we waste it, and we even pay too much to drink it from little plastic bottles.
According to the Central Water Commission, even though climate change has resulted in a reduction in rainfall and thereby the water supply, the country still receives enough rainfall to meet the needs of over 1 billion people
India is facing one of its most serious water crisis. According to the NITI Aayog's Composite Water Management Index (CWMI) 2018, 21 Indian cities could face Day Zero in the coming years. Day Zero refers to the day when a place is likely to have no drinking water of its own. Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad are among the most susceptible.
The report also said that 75% of Indian households do not have drinking water on premise and about 84 percent rural households do not have piped water access.
Water is not properly distributed where it is supplied through pipes. Mega cities like Delhi and Mumbai get more than the standard municipal water norm of 150 litres per capita per day (LPCD) while others get 40-50 LPCD.
Several large cities of India have experienced water shortages in recent years, with Chennai being the most prominent in 2019. The shortage of water affected the entire city of 9 million people.
The Government of India has launched multiple schemes and programs, including the formation of an entire 'Jal Shakti' Ministry to deal with the problem. The government has also insisted on techniques such as rainwater harvesting, water conservation and more efficient irrigation
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious project is the Jal Jeevan Mission. The JJM envisions that every rural household should have drinking water supply in adequate quantity of prescribed quality on regular and long-term basis at affordable service delivery charges leading to improvement in living standards of rural communities.
The Har Ghar Nal Se Jal programme was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget 2019-20 speech. This programme forms a crucial part of the Jal Jeevan Mission.
The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) is intended to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India. JJM looks to create a jan andolan for water, thereby prioritizing it.
Recharge and reuse through grey water management, water conservation, rain water harvesting will play a crucial role in the JJM. Community based approach to water will be the foundation of the JJM and will include extensive Information, Education and communication as its key component.
The government records 19,22,41,339 Total rural households as of 23rd November 2021 of which the Jal Jeevan has made a landmark 44.40% achievement towards its mission providing 8,53,62,376 rural households with tap connections.
Since the launch of the Jal Jeevan Mission in 2019, five crore households have got water connection and now tap water is reaching every household in about 1.25 lakh villages, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asserted that today's India has done more work in just two years than what was done in seven decades.
Rs 1.42 lakh crore has been allocated to panchayati raj institutions as a tied grant under 15th Finance Commission for water and sanitation in villages for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26.
Six states and Union territories have come out on top with 100% coverage so far, the data show. These are Andamans and Nicobar Islands, Dadra And Nagar Haveli, Goa, Telangana, Puducherry and Haryana. Haryana is the latest state to achieve the target ahead of schedule.
Bihar, a peer state, however, has been speedily able to expand coverage, currently at 88.23% of 17.2 million households.
Uttar Pradesh, which has covered 12.74% of its 26.4 million rural households so far. The state has drawn up a large scale engineering project to extend tap water connections in Bundelkhand, one of the driest parts of the country.
Rajasthan, among the laggards, has been able to reach 20.91% of its 10.1 million rural families. It falls among a handful of states and UTs where coverage has been less than 25%, including Assam (22%), Ladakh (16.62%), Jharkhand (15.16%), West Bengal (13.48%) and Chhattisgarh 13.23%).
A marquee programme of the Modi government, the Jal Jeevan Mission will soon achieve a milestone in solving India’s water crisis.
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