A slow trickle for 111 mn parched homes in villages waiting for tap water

A third of villages in the country do not have piped water supply infrastructure (infra). Another third has the infra, but tap water to households remains a pipe dream. The government has promised to plumb in Rs 50,000 crore this year on the rural drinking water scheme.

With close to 111 million homes still thirsty for tap water, the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) needs to expedite its implementation if the target of 100-per cent tap water connections to parched rural households has to be met in the next three years. The speed of implementation needs to be better than 2020-21 (FY21) - a milestone year that saw 32-million tap water connections. 

The Government of India restructured and subsumed the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) into JJM in 2019, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Independence Day the target of providing drinking tap water to all households by 2024. 

The scheme gathered pace after the announcement. The number of households with functional drinking water taps, which had grown from 22 million to 40 million in six years to 2019-20 (FY20), has now grown close to 80 million in August. The doubling period has shrunk from six years to 18 months. 

Despite this achievement, the target seems Sisyphean. These 80 million-odd households make up 41 per cent of rural families. 

There are still another 78 million homes in villages with piped water infra, but without tap water provision. Further, there are 34 million homes in villages which do not have a piped water system at all. 

From NRDWP to JJM: Speed and speed breaker

The NRDWP - a parent programme of JJM - was launched in 2009 with the sole objective of providing 55 litres of water per person per day to 35 per cent of rural households. 

But an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India found that by 2017, eight years after the launch, only 17 per cent of rural homes had benefited from the scheme - reaching only half the target. 

The JJM, announced a year after the CAG report was tabled in Parliament, expanded the ambit of the scheme to all rural households, and put a target year of 2024, coinciding with the general elections in India, when Modi fights for a third term in office. 

After the JJM announcement, the pick-up in speed is visible on the ground. New tap connections, which had ranged between 2,000 and 10,000 per day till FY20, zoomed to more than 88,000 taps per day in FY21. The Centre, too, chipped in with Rs 10,000 crore and Rs 11,000 crore in FY20 and FY21, respectively - twice the amount spent in the preceding years.

Government officials said one reason for this speed is the use of groundwater. Household tap water systems can be developed quickly in such villages with the next 30-40 years in mind. 

“When water is available in the same village and does not have to be brought from elsewhere, it takes six to 10 months to provide the connection. We have crossed two years since JJM began,” said a senior official.

The scheme has benefited from past investments as well. In areas where the scheme (including the NRDWP) had partly progressed, JJM worked towards overhauling the existing supply systems, putting in place mechanisms for groundwater recharge and ensuring supply to households left behind. 

However, the speed has mellowed somewhat this year, despite a fivefold increase in central funding. In 2021-22 (FY22) till August, the daily rate has gone down to 18,000, despite an allocation of Rs 50,000 crore for the scheme. 

Half of remainder target falls on three states

Of the 111-million remaining households, West Bengal (WB), Uttar Pradesh (UP), and Rajasthan account for nearly 50-million taps. The household coverage of potable drinking water in these states is 10.9 per cent, 12.2 per cent, and 20.4 per cent, respectively. 

Among large states, Telangana (100 per cent), Haryana, Bihar, and Punjab have been successful in providing tap water to more than 80 per cent of families in the states. 

According to government officials, there are legacy and governance issues in some states, such as Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, UP, and WB. 

For UP, the size of the state itself is a challenge. The state lacks a full-fledged department to lead this initiative. In WB, however, the scheme has not taken off due to political reasons. 

“The differences are being settled. We are seeing improvement in some states. For instance, Assam is adding 6,000-7,000 connections every day,” said a senior official in the Jal Shakti ministry.

UP, too, is gaining traction. Its target is to get coverage in 60,000 villages by the end of this year. The Centre has released Rs 2,400 crore recently to the state, which will go to Assembly polls in early 2022. 

Things are picking up in Tripura, according to sources, after the new chief secretary — a trusty hand in the water management sector — has taken charge.

The government is, however, concerned about smaller states dealing with technical difficulties. “We are discussing orientation of engineering-level officers in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh,” said an official.

States such as Bihar, which began expediting household tap water connections before the JJM, have the early-entrant advantage. 

With over 86-per cent coverage, Bihar has capitalised on funds from the Fourteenth Finance Commission. “It is not in need of additional allocation right now and has sufficient resources available to it,” added a senior government official. The quarterly plan shows Bihar is on its way to complete 100-per cent achievement in FY22.