Access to basic facilities like tap water a right of citizens: President

New Delhi: In her address to the nation ahead of the 79th Independence Day, President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday showcased one of the government’s flagship schemes Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), highlighting that access to basic facilities is the right of citizens.

Referring to the change brought about in the lives of millions of people under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), a major initiative to improve the quality of life in cities.

Launched on June 25, 2015, the Mission aimed to provide basic services such as water supply, sewerage, urban transport, and parks.

She said under the Atal Mission sweeping changes have come about in the quality of life, including supply of tap water.

Over the past 10 years, 2.03 crore tap connections and 1.50 crore sewer connections provided under AMRUT and AMRUT 2.0.

According to the government data, 80.93 per cent of rural households out of the total 19.36 crore in the country are reported to have a tap water supply in their homes.

Recently, Minister of State for Jal Shakti V. Somanna told Parliament that under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) – Har Ghar Jal, around 12.43 crore additional rural households have been provided tap water connections till July 15, 2025, since the implementation of the Mission in August 2019.

At the start of the Mission, only 3.23 crore (16.7 per cent) rural households were reported to have tap water connections, said the MoS.

It was launched to enable every rural household in the country to have assured potable water, in adequate quantity of prescribed quality on a regular and long-term basis, through tap water connection, he said.

Minister of State Somanna said to monitor outcomes, the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation undertakes an assessment of the functionality of household tap water connections provided under the Mission, through an independent third-party agency, based on standard statistical sampling.

“During the Functionality Assessment 2022, it was found that 86 per cent of households (HHs) had working tap connections. Out of these, 85 per cent were getting water in adequate quantity, 80 per cent were getting water regularly as per the schedule of water supply for their piped water supply scheme, and 87 per cent of households were receiving water as per the prescribed water quality standards,” said the MoS.

–IANS