The Jal Jeevan Mission flows rapidly. But of late, price rise has slowed the initial gush
Photo by Chandradeep Kumar
The country may have found a seat at the high table of leading economies, but it’s a sobering thought that less than 50 per cent of Indians have access to piped drinking water. To redress the grave situation, the Union ministry of Jal Shakti rolled out the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in 2019. It has one objective: to deliver piped connections to every rural household by 2024. It’s a pet project of PM Narendra Modi. The ministry is led by Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who is smart, sharp and very accessible.
COVER STORY | The challenges ahead
The JJM has pushed tap water supply from 16 per cent to 49 per cent, and 33 per cent new homes receive water. While it exceeded targets for two years, it was not possible to reach the 49 million households planned for 2021-22.
The first state to reach 100 per cent coverage under the Mission was Goa, followed by Telangana—its Mission Bhagiratha apparently inspired JJM—and Haryana. Twelve more states are moving towards that goal. Of them, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab are in the lead. JJM is close to reaching 100 per cent connections in Bundelkhand, where extreme water scarcity was the norm. A similar success was seen in drought-prone areas of Telangana.
Despite steady progress, JJM is beset with a perennial challenge—water is a state subject and its utilisation and management lies within the purview of states.
Inflation, too, is a hurdle. Rise in prices of steel and plastic has doubled the cost of pipes and contracts awarded earlier have become unviable. As new tenders are issued, old projects have stopped.
The ministry has also presided over the contentious Ken-Betwa river interlinking project, which has now received the statutory forest and wildlife clearances. Tenders will now be issued for work to begin within a few months.
