Nagaland nears ‘Har Ghar Jal’ goal with 91.58% coverage

DIMAPUR — The National Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) has reached a milestone by providing tap water connections to 15 crore rural households across the country.

According to the Ministry of Jal Shakti, eight states—Goa, Telangana, Haryana, Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh—and three Union Territories—Puducherry, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands—have achieved 100% coverage till now.

Several other states have made significant progress towards Har Ghar Jal status, such as Bihar with 96.08% coverage, Uttarakhand with 95.02%, Ladakh with 93.25%, and Nagaland with 91.58%.

Additionally, 2.28 lakh villages and 190 districts have reported achieving 'Har Ghar Jal' status, while 100 districts and over 1.25 lakh villages are 'Har Ghar Jal' certified.

As of July 23, 2024, 5.24 lakh Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSCs) or Paani Samitis have been constituted, and 5.12 lakh Village Action Plans (VAPs) have been developed. These plans detail the type of water supply scheme required, cost estimates, implementation schedules, and operation and maintenance arrangements.

Along with household connections, the Mission has ensured tap water supply in 9.28 lakh (88.91%) schools and 9.68 lakh (85.08%) anganwadi centres across the country.

In the 112 aspirational districts, tap water access has surged from 21.38 lakh (7.80%) households at the time of its launch to 2.11 crore (77.16%) households as of July 23, 2024.

According to the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Nagaland has a total of 3,63,217 households, of which 3,32,628 (91.58%) have tap water supply coverage.

It claimed that Kiphire district has reported a 100% household tap water supply, consisting of 14,991 households.

Out of 1,425 villages in Nagaland, 1,010 have reported 100% tap water connection, and 578 of these villages have been certified as of July 23, 2024.