Jal Jeevan Mission: Govt's tap water scheme to be completed by 2028, says Minister Patil

On Namami Gange project, the minister said work is on and that sewage treatment is the biggest bottleneck

Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil announced on May 16 said the government's tap water scheme under the Jal Jeevan Mission will be completed by 2028.

"Nal se Jal Yojana (tap water scheme) is a priority for the Modi government for our Viksit Bharat at 2047 target. Tap water connections have been given to 15 crore households under the scheme so far. Installation of taps in 4 crore households is under progress. By 2028, we intend to complete this mission," Patil said.

According to government data, the 15 crore households that have been provided with tap water connections account for 79.74 percent of all rural households in India. The mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15, 2019. Initially, only 3.23 crore (17 percent) rural households had tap water connections.

Patil said the biggest challenge under the mission is about purity of water. "Many areas do not get clean water. I have told in the Parliament also that all complaints are welcome. We have worked at the micro level on this. At some places where ground water levels were low, we recharged it through rain water harvesting. In some villages, we brought in water from another region and provided it to their taps. Offering taps without water, otherwise, would be a big blot to our service," he said.

Jal Jeevan Mission also strives for the freedom of mothers and sisters from centuries old drudgery of fetching water for the household, and improving their health, education and socio- economic condition, the minister said. The Mission is bringing ‘ease of living’ and adding pride and dignity to rural families.

Namami Gange Project

On Namami Gange project, the minister said work is on and that sewage treatment is the biggest bottleneck. "Ganga flows through five states. We are pushing these states to expedite installation of sewage treatment plants. Power plants along these regions should use this treated water instead of releasing it back entirely into the Ganga," Patil said.

The Namami Gange Programme, is an Integrated Conservation Mission, approved as ‘Flagship Programme’ by the Union Government in June 2014 with budget outlay of Rs.20,000 Crore to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga.