Only 50% rural households have tapped drinking water

Even as the deadline of providing drinking water through taps to every rural household under the government’s ambitious Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) by 2024 is fast approaching, only 50.3 per cent of households have been provided with functional household tap connections (FHTCs), while as many as 13 major states have more than 95 per cent households without these connections.

According to sources aware of the developments, while smaller states have been able to provide tapped drinking water access to almost all rural households under their jurisdiction, the Jal Shakti ministry has identified 13 major states where more than 9 crore or 95 per cent of rural households are yet to be provided with FHTCs.

Under J JM, which was launched by the Centre in August 2019, all 18.93 rural households in the country were to be provided drinking water connections by 2024.