Assam Have Water Taps in 7.99 Lakh Households: Centre

The Jal Shakti Ministry said on Saturday that about 7.99 lakh households in Assam have tap water connections.

This is a rise of 10 per cent from 2019, as it allocated a grant of Rs 5,601.16 crore to the state to expedite the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission.

While approving this four-fold increase in allocation, Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat assured full assistance to the state for making provision of tap water supply in every rural home by 2024.

The ministry in one of it's statement said that Assam has already approved schemes for 41.9 lakh tap water connections and work orders for about 17.85 lakh connections have been issued in 2021-22.

With the allocation, the ministry urged the state to expedite the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission.

The statement further said that in Assam on August 15, 2019, at the time of launch of the Jal Jeevan Mission, only 1.11 lakh (1.76 per cent) households, out of a total of 63.35 lakh households in 25,335 villages, had tap water supply. In the last 22 months, 6.88 lakh households (10.87 per cent) in the state have been provided tap water connections, thus 7.99 lakh households (12.63 per cent) have tap water supply.

As per reports, the Jal Shakti Ministry this year allocated a grant of Rs 5,601.16 crore to Assam under the Jal Jeevan Mission, a four fold increase from Rs 1,608.51 crore in 2020-21.

The Ministry of Jal Shakti has also released Rs 700 crore to the state as the first tranche.

Reports further stated, the allocation of the central grant to Assam under the JJM has been enhanced to Rs 5,601.16 crore. With this increase in central allocation, unspent balance of Rs 123.78 crore and the state's matching share of Rs 636.10 crore, Assam has an assured availability of Rs 6,361.04 crore for water supply work in 2021-22.

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