- Centre allocates Rs. 1,804 Crore grant to Kerala under Jal Jeevan Mission to make provision of tap water supply to every home
- With four-fold increase in allocation, Central Government pushes for speedy provision of “Har Ghar Jal” in Kerala by 2023
In Kerala, on 15th August 2019, at the time of launch of Jal Jeevan Mission, out of 67.14 lakh households, only 16.64 lakh (24.78%) households had tap water supply. In the last 22 months, 6.36 lakh households in the State have been provided tap water connections. Thus, now 23.00 lakh households (34.26%) in the State have provision of tap water supply. However, the increase in tap water supply coverage in the State has been less than 10% against the national average of 22%.
Presently, in Kerala there are still 44.14 lakh households without provision of tap water supply. In a meeting between Chief Minister, Kerala and Union Jal Shakti Minister, all households are to be provided tap water connections by 2023. Under Jal Jeevan Mission, the State Government has planned to provide tap water connections to 29.37 lakh households in 2021-22, 6.68 lakh in 2022-23 and 5.54 lakh in 2023-24 to achieve the goal of every household with assured tap water supply. The Ministry of Jal Shakti has expressed its deep concern about very slow pace of implementation as only 4.04 lakh households were provided tap water connections in 2020-21.
In 2020-21, Rs 404.24 Crore central grant was released to Kerala but the State could draw only Rs 303.14 Crore, and surrendered Rs. 101.06 Crore meant for tap water supply in rural areas of the State. This year with Central allocation of Rs 1,804.59 crore, unspent balance of Rs 40.07 Crore and short fall and matching State’s share of Rs 1,844.66 Crore, Kerala has an assured availability of Rs. 3,689.32 Crore under Jal Jeevan Mission for water supply work in 2021-22. In his letter to the Chief Minister, Kerala, the Union Minister has hoped that this enhanced allocation will enable the State to expedite the implementation to achieve various planned activities under Jal Jeevan Mission to provide tap water connection to every household in rural areas.
In 2021-22, Rs. 722 Crore has been allocated to Kerala as 15th FC tied grant for water & sanitation to Rural Local Bodies/ PRIs. There is an assured funding of Rs 3,806 Crore for the next five years i.e. up to 2025-26. This huge investment in rural areas of Kerala, will create new employment opportunities, accelerate economic activities and also boost rural economy.
To ensure safe tap water to children in schools, ashramshalas and anganwadi centres in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced 100-days campaign, which was launched by the Union Minister, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on 2nd October 2020. As a result, States/ UTs like Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andaman & Nicobar Islands have made provision of tap water in schools, ashramshalas and Anganwadi centres. In Kerala 10,772 schools (99%) and 26,307 Anganwadi centres (79%) have access to piped water supply. Central Government has asked the State to ensure that in next few months, provision of safe tap water is made in all remaining schools, ashramshalas and Anganwadi centres for better health, improved sanitation and hygiene of children.
Water quality monitoring & 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). Out of a total of 52 water testing laboratories in the State, only 1 lab is NABL accredited. The State needs to expedite the upgradation of these water testing laboratories and secure their NABL accreditation. These labs should be open to public so that they can get their water samples tested at a nominal cost.
Under Jal Jeevan Mission, ‘bottom up’ approach is followed, wherein community plays a pivotal role starting from planning to implementation, management, operation and maintenance. To achieve this, State Government has to undertake support activities like strengthening the Village Water & Sanitation Committee (VWSC)/ PaniSamiti, developing of Village Action Plan for the next five years, engaging Implementing State Agencies (ISAs) to handhold and support village communities, carry out awareness among people.