Now 67.10 pc rural households in Maha have tap water connections Jal Shakti Ministry

PTI Updated: November 12, 2021 20:44 IST

    New Delhi, Nov 12 (PTI) Around 67 per cent of total 1.42 crore rural households in Maharashtra have been provided with tap water connections and 33 per cent of the coverage was achieved in the last 26 months, mostly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns when the construction activity was badly affected in the state, the Jal Shakti Ministry said on Friday.
     As a follow-up to the National Jal Jeevan Mission teams' visit to Maharashtra in October, 2021, a review meeting with Principal Secretary, Water Supply & Sanitation Department and his team was held at the Ministry of Jal Shakti here.
     The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the progress made by the state in implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission, and update about the plan and activities proposed for the remaining five months of the financial year as well as the strategies to be adopted for 100 per cent coverage in a time-bound manner.
     The team shared the challenges they encounter on ground as 145 blocks of Maharashtra are water-stressed.
     "In Maharashtra, out of a total of 1.42 crore rural households, 95.52 lakh (67.10 per cent) households have been provided with tap water connections. On August 15, 2019, at the time of the launch of the Jal Jeevan Mission, 48.43 lakh households (34 per cent) had access to tap water. In the last 26 months, 47.08 lakh households (33 per cent) have been provided with tap water connections, despite COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns when construction activity was badly affected in the state," the ministry said in a statement.
     "The state ensured that tap water connection reached more and more rural households so that gathering at public stand post to collect water could be avoided. In certain cases, Public Health Engineering Department provided tap water connections on priority in houses which had coronavirus patients and their family members were put on quarantine," it added. PTI UZM CK

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)