Centre government pushes for Jal Jeevan Mission amid Covid pandemic
Ravi S Singh
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 8
Provide jobs to migrants
- The objective of Jal Jeevan Mission is to provide functional household tap connection to each rural household of the country
- The Union Jal Shakti Ministry has asked the states and UTs to give a push to the mission
Sees an opportunity to provide employment to migrant workers
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In a bid to convert Covid pandemic and the lockdown adversity, which has led to loss of jobs, into an opportunity to achieve national goal of piped water connection to every rural household in the country by 2024, the Union Jal Shakti Ministry has asked the states and UTs to give a push to the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).
The states and UTs, including Punjab, Hayana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, among north and northwestern states and UTs recently committed to the Ministry to cover all their areas under JJM in a timeline of March-December, 2022, much ahead of the national deadline.
The commitments were made during their presentations to the National Jal Jeevan Mission of the ministry while seeking approval of JJM-related Annual Action Plan (2020-21).
Sources said in a follow-up, the ministry has now communicated to states and UTs, saying “during this trying times of the pandemic” the efforts, including of National Jal Jeevan Mission, was to commence works related to potable water through tap connection to every household.
“The piped water connection will avoid crowding at public stand posts to fetch water,” the ministry said.
Besides, it would provide employment, especially to the returnee migrant workers, skilled and semi-skilled.
This would ensure sufficient groundwater availability as also water availability for agriculture, besides helping in providing drinking water to every household. The rural economy will also get a boost.
The objective of the JJM is to provide functional household tap connection (FHTC) to each rural household of the country.
During presentation to the National Jal Jeevan Mission, the Haryana Government said out of 28.94 lakh rural households in the state, 18.83 lakh already have tap connections. There was a plan to provide seven lakh connections in 2020-21.
In Punjab, out of 35.07 lakh rural households, 17.48 lakh already tap connections. The plan is to provide 7.6 lakh connections out of remaining 17.59 lakh households in 2020-21.
