As the BJP's Bhajan Lal Sharma took oath as chief minister of Rajasthan on December 15 , one of the key focus areas that stands before him is rapid escalation of the Narendra Modi government's ambitious 'Har Ghar Jal' scheme. The desert state has been lagging significantly behind the Centre's 2024 deadline for rolling out the scheme across Rajasthan.
Jal Jeevan Mission
The central government has been implementing the Rs 3.6-trillion Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) – Har Ghar Jal scheme in collaboration with states, since August 2019 to provide tap-water supply to every rural household across the country by 2024. Both the central and state governments are sharing the expenses on a 50:50 basis.
Graft and laggards
As on date, only 45 percent of households in Rajasthan have access to tap drinking water, which is remarkably lower than the national average of nearly 72 percent achieved since the scheme's launch on August 15, 2019, according to the latest Jal Shakti Ministry data.
Rajasthan, in fact, ranks last but one among states in terms of progress under the scheme, with only West Bengal trailing behind at a mere 40 percent coverage under the Mamata Banerjee government. In Jharkhand too, less than half of the targeted households have been included in the project, raising concerns about meeting the 2024 deadline.
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Rajasthan has approximately 1.06 crore households, and as of 2019, only 11.74 lakh had access to tap drinking water connections. Since the inception of the initiative, the cumulative coverage has increased to 48 lakh connections. A significant challenge remains as 58 lakh households in the state still lack tap water connections under the scheme.
The Jal Shakti ministry, led by Jodhpur MP Gajendra Shekhawat, will reportedly join forces with CM Sharma to implement the Har Ghar Jal scheme before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
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Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has been embroiled in several graft charges. Graft in the 'Har Ghar Jal' scheme is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate. The former Congress government allegedly used poor-quality water pipes in implementing the scheme. Early this November, the ED raided 25 locations in the state a few days ahead of the Assembly elections following allegations of a Rs 20,000-crore scam in the JJM scheme raised by BJP MP Kirori Lal Meena.
None of the districts in Rajasthan has achieved full coverage under the scheme. Only 4,600 out of the 42,000 villages in the state have reported complete saturation. Banswara has the lowest performance among the districts, with a connection rate of only 14 percent.
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Saffron Triumph
On December 3, the BJP claimed victory in this Hindi heartland state by claiming 115 seats in the 199-seat Assembly. Following a brief period of uncertainty regarding the identity of the next CM, the party officially announced Sharma as the designated leader on December 12.
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