The smile and satisfaction on the face of that elderly woman in Jhansi’s Purwa village of Bundelkhand, on seeing a newly installed functional tap water connection at her residence, was heart-warming.
The Jal Jeevan Mission, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15, 2019, aims at quenching the thirst of nearly 50 per cent rural population that lack access to pure drinking water at their doorstep.
In Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most populous State, functional tap water connections have been provided to about 33 per cent of the rural population.
This has touched the lives of over 86 lakh rural families and benefited an estimated 5.18 crore people.
By March 2024, about 2.65 crore people would be ensured drinking water access.
UP is among the top four States in terms of rolling out drinking water connections. Much back-room planning has gone behind ensuring this.
More than 90 per cent of schools and ‘anganwadi centres’ in the State that lacked access to drinking water, now have a functional tap water connection. The State government’s commitment to make a real difference in the lives of the people was evident from day one when the Bundelkhand and Vindhya regions, where water crisis is generally the most acute, were chosen for the implementation of the ‘Har Ghar Jal’ scheme.
In Mirzapur, for instance, before 2019 only 0.56 per cent of the families had tap water connection, which has risen to 69.10 per cent now.
About 600 connections are being added daily here. In adjacent Sonbhadra region too, 400 tap water connections are being installed daily. Here again, against a mere 4.08 per cent tap connections prior to 2019, the figure has now gone up to 41.51 per cent.
UP’s efforts are now visible in terms of the rankings, with some districts making it to the starred category for the first time and others improving their rankings on the water roll-out plan.
Employment generation
This scheme has yet another dimension to it — providing gainful employment to women in rural areas. From each village, five women have been picked for being trained as water testers, and so far 4.8 lakh women have been trained for this.
Also, some 1.16 lakh youth have been trained as plumbers, and a similar number as electricians, motor mechanics, fitters and pump operators.
The water testing is also being done through 81 labs.
The efforts have also resulted in another encouraging development. In 37 districts of UP, the groundwater level has increased. In 2017, about 129 development blocks across the State were in ‘dark zone’ and today less than a 100 are there in this category.
Also, wastewater is being recycled for irrigation, and the intention is to tap each drop of water for the larger good. When each house has access to drinking water along with a simultaneous increase in groundwater levels, it would mean a secure future for generations. That is what the State is aiming at.
The writer is Principal Secretary, Jal Jeevan Mission, Government of Uttar Pradesh