Tamil Nadu has emerged as the only State which has achieved the target for 2022 Q1 and Q2 for Jal Jeevan Mission, with 69.57 lakh households provided with tap connections till date, according to official data..
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Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat visited Chennai on Thursday and reviewed the progress of work pertaining to Jal Jeevan Mission for assured potable tap water supply to every rural household by 2024, in the presence of Municipal Administration and Water Supply Minister K.N. Nehru.
Of the 1.25 crore households in Tamil Nadu, 69.57 lakh households have received tap connections till date. The percentage of households (55.63%) with tap connections in Tamil Nadu is higher than the national average of 53.96%. The target set by the Union government for Q1 and Q2 for 2022 was 12.1 lakh tap connections in Tamil Nadu. However, the State has provided 16.25 lakh tap connections, registering 134% of the target. The target set for 2022-2023 in the State is 28.48 lakh tap connections.
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The implementation of the work on tap connections for 14.44 lakh households is under way in the State. Tender has been issued for work on 5.52 lakh households and work order is expected to be awarded shortly. Approval has been obtained for 9.99 lakh households and tender for such households will be issued son. Preparation of a detailed project report for providing tap connections to 25.41 lakh households in the State has started.
Of the 12,525 villages in Tamil Nadu, the State has reported 2,663 villages as ‘Har Ghar Jal’ villages, with tap water connections in 100% households. Work is under way in 7,671 villages. Work is expected to start in 2,191 villages soon, officials said.
During the announcement of the scheme on August 15, 2019, Tamil Nadu had 21.76 lakh tap connections. The number of tap connections has increased to 69.57 lakh now. According to the functionality assessment for 2022, the residual chlorine detected within permissible limits was 32% in Tamil Nadu. Over 85% of the schools in the State had drinking water facility. More than 83% of the anganwadis had drinking water facility.
Of the allocation of ₹3,691 crore from the Union government for the State in 2021-2022, ₹614 crore has been released. The expenditure for the State government for providing the tap connections was ₹496 crore in 2021-2022 and the expenditure for the Union government was ₹457 crore in the same period. The State government has reported an expenditure of ₹173 crore during 2022-2023 and the Union government has reported an expenditure of ₹132 crore during the same period. During the meeting, officials stressed the need for special projects for ground water recharge and development of check dams.
Jal Jeevan Mission was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15, 2019 and the work is implemented in partnership with States and Union Territories. Every rural household will have a functional tap connection by 2024, with assured water supply in adequate quantity of prescribed quality with adequate pressure on a regular and long time basis.