Centre Allocates Rs.5,601 Cr Grant to Assam Under Jal Jeevan Mission

GUWAHATI: To translate Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of providing clean tap water to every household- 'Har Ghar Jal', this year Central Government has allocated Rs. 5,601.16 Crore grant to Assam under the Jal Jeevan Mission.

Notably in the fiscal year 2020-21 the Centre has granted Rs.1,608.51 Crore under the Jal Jeevan Mission.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister of Assam, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma has assured the Union Minister, Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat of speedy pace of implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Assam. The State has already approved schemes for 41.9 lakh tap water connections and work orders for about 17.85 lakh tap water connections have been issued in 2021-22. The Chief Minister has further assured that he will be closely monitoring the progress of the work to ensure tap water supply in rural households.

In Assam on 15th August 2019, at the time of launch of Jal Jeevan Mission, only 1.11 lakh (1.76%) households out of a total of 63.35 lakh households in 25,335 villages, had tap water supply. However, in the last 22 months, 6.88 lakh households (10.87%) in the State have been provided tap water connections, thus 7.99 lakh households (12.63%) are having tap water supply.

The State has to provide tap water supply to remaining 55.35 lakh households in next three years. To achieve this task, the State has planned to provide tap water connections to 22.63 lakh households in 2021-22, 20.84 lakh households in 2022-23, and 13.20 lakh tap water connections in 2023-24.

The allocation of the Central grant to Assam under JJM has been enhanced to Rs. 5,601.16 Crore. With this fourfold increase in Central allocation, unspent balance of Rs 123.78 Crore and State's matching share of Rs 636.10 Crore, Assam has an assured availability of Rs. 6,361.04 Crore under Jal Jeevan Mission for water supply work in 2021-22.

In 2021-22, Rs 712 Crore has been allocated to Assam as 15th Finance Commission tied grant to Rural Local Bodies/ PRIs for water & sanitation. There is an assured funding of Rs 3,752 Crore for the next five years i.e. up to 2025-26. This huge investment in rural areas of Assam, will create new employment opportunities, accelerate economic activities and also boost rural economy.

Further, water quality monitoring and surveillance activities are to be given top priority, for which anganwadi workers, ASHA workers, members of Self-Help Groups, PRI members, school teachers etc; are being trained so that they can test water samples for contamination by using Field test Kits (FTKs).

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