79% of J&K’s rural households have access to tap water connections: Centre

New Delhi, Feb 13: The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), launched in 2019 to provide tap water connections to all rural households in India, has made significant progress in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, the government of India said on Thursday.
According to the data presented by Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil in the Lok Sabha, over 80% of rural households in J&K and 96% in Ladakh now have functional tap water connections.
“At the start of the mission in August 2019, only 5.75 lakh (29.92%) rural households in Jammu & Kashmir had access to tap water. Over the past five years, 9.80 lakh additional households have been connected, bringing the total to 15.55 lakh, covering 80.87% of the rural population.”
In Ladakh, the coverage was even lower in 2019, with just 1% of rural households (4,100) having tap water. Since then, 38,000 more households have been connected, increasing the total coverage to 96.05%, the data reads.
Despite the progress, officials have identified several challenges in implementing the mission, especially in remote and high-altitude areas. The lack of dependable water sources, difficult terrain, harsh weather conditions, and the presence of geo-genic contaminants in groundwater have slowed implementation in some regions, it added.
Additionally, delays in securing statutory clearances and technical capacity gaps at the local level have posed hurdles.
To overcome these issues, the government has launched multiple initiatives, including financial assistance under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure program, setting up State and District Programme Management Units (SPMUs and DPMUs), and training local personnel through the “Nal Jal Mitra Programme.” The Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain campaign has also been implemented to encourage rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge, with a special emphasis on the role of women in water conservation, the data added.
With just a few months left for the mission’s 2024-25 deadline, both J&K and Ladakh are on track to achieve full rural tap water coverage. While Ladakh has already surpassed 96%, efforts are being intensified in J&K to bridge the remaining gap. (KNO)