Govt scheme delivers tap water to 15 crore rural homes across India in last five years

New Delhi, July 25 (IANS) The National Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) has succeeded in providing tap water connections to 15 crore rural households across the country in the last five years, according to the latest data compiled by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.“Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15th August 2019, this flagship initiative has showcased unprecedented speed and scale by increasing rural tap connection coverage from three crore to an astounding 15 crore since its launch in a short span of five years,” the Ministry said.“This golden milestone has not only given a gift of pure water to our countrymen but also uniquely improved their quality of life,” Union Minister for Jal Shakti C.R. Patil said.Collaborating with States/UTs and various development partners, JJM has reached several key milestones. As of date, eight states — Goa, Telangana, Haryana, Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, and three Union Territories — Puducherry, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands have achieved 100 per cent coverage. Several other states are progressing well and will be shortly reporting themselves as ‘Har Ghar Jal (HGJ)’. Bihar (96.08 per cent), Uttarakhand (95.02 per cent), Ladakh (93.25 per cent) and Nagaland (91.58 per cent) have made significant progress towards HGJ status.The ‘Har Ghar Jal’ initiative is bringing substantial socio-economic benefits, liberating the rural population, particularly women and young girls, from the arduous task of fetching water daily. The time saved is now redirected towards income-generating activities, skill development, and supporting children’s education, according to the official statement.Tap water is now being supplied to 88.91 per cent of schools and 85.08 per cent of Anganwadi centres nationwide.As many as 2,163 laboratories have been set up to ensure timely water sample testing and over 24.59 lakh women have been trained for testing water samples using field testing kits–IANSsps/dpb