Bengaluru: 25 lakh households to get tap connections under Jal Jeevan Mission this year

Bengaluru: Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said on Tuesday that it was decided to provide 25 lakh connections this year under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) that is aimed at providing tap water connection to every household. He held a discussion with Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on the implementation of the JJM here on Tuesday.

Shekhawat said Karnataka's performance in the implementation of JJM was "praise-worthy". "The recent four-fold increase in Centre's grant will help the State achieve the target in time.

I appreciate CM's efforts for targeting 25 lakh FHTC (Functional Household Tap Connection) this year," he tweeted. Speaking to reporters after the meeting with the Union minister, the chief minister said it's the Prime Minister's desire to provide tap water connection to every house.

"We will put all honest efforts towards this," he said.

"We have not been able to provide tap water connection to every household in the country as per the expectation. We (Karnataka) have decided to provide 25 lakh connections at the earliest in the coming days, despite financial hurdles," Yediyurappa said.

According to a statement by the CMO, the Union minister directed officials to complete the JJM project in a time-bound manner. Under the JJM, the Government of India intends to provide Functional Household Taps to 15.70 crore rural households by 2024, Shekhawat said.

The government aims to stress upon the functionality of the scheme along with creating the facility, he said and also suggested providing FHTCs in aspirational districts, Raichur and Yadgir, on priority and also to ensure quality of water.

Yediyurappa, who apprised the Union Minister of the progress of JJM in the State, said the government aimed to provide 91.19 lakh rural households, 55 LPCD (litre per capita per day) potable water through FHTC.

Under this scheme, during 2021-22 it is intended to provide FHTCs to 25.17 lakh households and to 27.15 lakh households in 2022-23 and to cover the remaining 10.72 lakh households by the end of December, 2023, the CM was quoted as saying.

The State Cabinet has approved a Multi-Village Scheme worth Rs 2,000 crore for Raichur, one of the aspirational districts, and the scheme is also being planned for Yadgir district, he added.