Har Ghar Jal: An Ambitious Program

The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) was announced by Prime Minister on 15th August, 2019 to provide Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) to every rural home by 2024- 'Har Ghar Jal'.

Need

Following factors make launch of Har Ghar Jal initiative necessary-

• Lack of availability of safe drinking water
• Increased burden onfemales who have to travel miles to fetch water
• Running tap water is essential for sanitation and hygiene
• Clean and accessible water required to tackle Covid pandemic as frequent hand wash is required in its defence
• India’s commitment to SDG as SDG 6 states that ‘Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’
• Water is essential not only to health, but also to poverty reduction, food security, peace and human rights, ecosystems and education

Key Features

It is a decentralized, demand-driven and community-managed programme that aims to instill ‘sense of ownership’ among the local community to achieve long-term drinking water security.

• Its ultimate goal is to improve quality of life and enhance ‘ease-of-living’ in rural areas.
• Under this, every rural household is to be provided with a functional tap water connection and ‘no one is left out’, irrespective of their socio-economic conditions.
• It is not about ‘mere infrastructure creation’ but focus is on ‘ensuring water service delivery in every home’.
• It is about achieving long-term drinking water security in such a way as to avoid making emergency arrangements through deployment of tankers or trains, handpump installation, etc. in any village.
• It intends to ‘make water everyone’s business by involving all stakeholders and turning it into a ‘Jan Andolan’ - a people’s movement.
• With JJM, focus is on ‘assured and regular water supply at household level’, i.e. water supply in adequate quantity (55 litres per person per day) of prescribed quality (as per Bureau of Indian Standards) on long-term and regular basis, which constitutes the very definition of the ‘functionality’ of taps or water supply systems.

Significance

Assured availability of drinking water in homes, thus ensuring water security for its underserved millions.

• Relieves women and girls of drudgery.
• Improves public health and reduces water borne diseases.
• Improve education and socio-economic conditions of rural population.
• Reduces time poverty of women.
• Create job opportunities, boost manufacturing and help rural economy.

Performance

Since launch of mission more than 5.38 Crore rural households have been provided tap water connection. Thus, as on 05.12.2021, out of total 19.22 Crore rural households in the country, now 8.61 Crore (44.84%) households have provision of tap water supply.

• Thus, civil society organizations along with governments should invest in water research and development, and promote the inclusion of women, youth and indigenous communities in water resources governance and ensure water security for all.