66% schools have tap water connections

• Tap water connections have been made available in 66 per cent schools, 60 per cent anganwadi centres and 69 per cent gram panchayats and community healthcare centres in villages across India, the Jal Shakti ministry said. 

• On October 2 last year, a 100-day campaign was launched to make provision of tap water supply in schools, anganwadi centres and community healthcare centres. 

• The campaign was part of the Jal Jeevan Mission which aims to provide tap water connections to all rural households by 2024.

• Since the launch of this campaign, provision of tap water has been made in 6.85 lakh (66 per cent) schools, 6.80 lakh (60 per cent) anganwadi centres (AWCs) and 2.36 lakh (69 per cent) gram panchayats and community healthcare centres (CHCs) in villages across India. 

• In Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Punjab, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, clean water supply is available in all schools, ashram shalas (residential schools) and anganwadi centres.

• Due to unsafe water, poor sanitation and hygiene, children are susceptible to water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea, dysentery, cholera, typhoid. 

• Repeated infections due to consumption of unsafe water and poor sanitation in formative years of children may lead to adverse health effects like stunting. In areas where water sources are contaminated with arsenic, fluoride, heavy metals, prolonged consumption of contaminated water may lead to serious health issues.

• Therefore, under this campaign, tap water supply of prescribed quality is being provided for drinking and cooking mid-day meals, for handwashing and in toilets/urinals of schools and anganwadi centres.

What is Jal Jeevan Mission?

• The central government assistance to states for rural water supply began in 1972 with the launch of Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme. It was renamed as National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) in 2009. 

• The government restructured NRDWP into Jal Jeevan Mission in August 2019. 

• It aims to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections to every rural household in the country by 2024.

• Various states/UTs have also committed to achieve the goal of the Mission well before 2024.

How is it being implemented?

• States were requested to undertake a revalidation exercise of baseline data, as per which there are 19.04 crore rural households in the country. 

• The key objective of the Mission is universal coverage and emphasis is on the principle of ‘equity and inclusiveness’. It means every family in the village gets tap water connection in their household and ‘none is left behind’. 

• Accordingly, states are giving priority to SC/ST majority populated villages, aspirational districts, villages in drought prone and desert areas and quality-affected habitations.

• Special focus is given to the districts affected with Japanese Encephalitis/ Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (JE-AES) which is one of the reasons behind infant mortality in the affected districts.  

• Around 3.01 crore households are there in 61 JE/ AES endemic districts of Assam, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. 

• Potable water supply to water quality-affected habitations is also a top priority under JJM as the ill-effects of fluorosis and arsenicosis are to be reduced.

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