In 117 Poorest Districts Of India, Jal Jeevan Mission's Progress Outpaces National Average

In 117 aspirational districts, there has been a four-fold increase in the rate at which functional piped water is being provided to households.

These districts, which are home to some of the poorest Indians, have overtaken the pace at which piped water is bring provided nationally under the marquee Jal Jeevan Mission, according to the official figures.

At least 8.4 million households have assured piped water supply in these districts, an increase from 7 per cent to 31 per cent in 22 months since the Jal Jeevan Mission was launched in 2019, reported Hindustan Times.

Aspirational Districts Lead The Way

The latest official figures have stated that 31 per cent of households in these districts have assured tap water supply. The coverage in these districts since the launch of the programme witnessed a 24 per cent jump, a rate higher than the 22.7 per cent increase in tap water connections provided countrywide under the scheme.

Access To Clean Water Still A Challenge

According to a UN Water report of 2014, over 120 million households in the country do not have access to clean water near their homes. India has 189 million rural households, according to Census data.

As of June 30, nearly 76.3 million households had a functioning tapped water supply source. This is 40.27 per cent of the total rural households.

In 2018, just 18.2 per cent of rural households had piped water supply. A year later, this figure increased by 9 per cent.

While access to water remains a challenge for the majority of the population, consumption of poor-quality water has been found to be the leading cause of childhood mortality in India.

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