In a significant landmark, Jal Jeevan Mission on Friday achieved the milestone of providing tap water to every home of 100 districts in the country. "A promise made by our government is now a reality in 100 districts of the country, from arid ones to those in the remotest corners," Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said on Twitter.
Chamba, in Himachal Pradesh has become the 100th 'Har Ghar Jal' district, the fifth aspirational district to be covered under the initiative. Earlier this week, the initiative had crossed the milestone of providing clean tap water to nine crore rural households.
Since the announcement of the 'Har Ghar Nal se Jal' scheme on August 15, 2019, it has provided tap water supply to more than 5.78 crore rural households. At the time of announcement of the Mission, out of 19.27 crore households in the country only 3.23 crore (17%) had tap water connections, an official statement said.
In this short period, 100 districts, 1,138 blocks, 66,328 Gram Panchayats and 1,36,803 villages have become 'Har Ghar Jal', it said. In Goa, Haryana, Telangana, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Puducherry, Dadar & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, every rural household has tap water supply. Many more States like Punjab (99%), Himachal Pradesh (92.5%), Gujarat (92%) and Bihar (90%) are on the verge of becoming 'Har Ghar Jal' in 2022.
With PTI Inputs