Srinagar, Dec 18: To ensure drinking water connections in every household in rural areas under Jal Shakti Mission (JJM), Srinagar and Ganderbal districts figure among the nine districts of the country who have achieved the feat in the first year of the commissioning of the scheme. The initiative launched last year by the Government of India to provide drinking water connections to every rural household by 2024.
According to the data of Jal Shakti Ministry, besides Srinagar and Ganderbal in J&K, Lahaul and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh, Sahibzada Ajit Singh (SAS) Nagar in Punjab, Gandhinagar in Gujarat and Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal and Medchal-Malkajgiri in Telangana are the other districts where every rural household now has potable water connection.
Chief Engineer Jal Shakti Department Kashmir Iftikar Ahmed Wani said the officials in the union territory are working round the clock to make the scheme a success.
“We have achieved cent percent coverage of the Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) in every rural home under Jal Jeewan Mission. 41,551 households and 10, 407 households have been covered in Ganderbal and Srinagar districts respectively”, said Wani.
He added that tap water connections have already been provided to these households and have simultaneously completed the uploading of the data on Jal Shakti web portal.
On October 7 this year, the Administrative Council (AC) – highest decision making body of J&K Government- under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, approved the proposal of the Jal Shakti Department to modify the roadmap for ensuring 100 per cent piped water supply in rural areas under Jal Jeevan Mission by December, 2022 owing to the COVID- 19 pandemic induced delays.
Earlier Jammu and Kashmir Government had decided to advance the target of achieving 100 per cent Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) under ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’ (JJM) by December 2021 instead the nation-wide target of year 2024.
An official of the Jal Shakti Department said Under the Jal Shakti Mission all the unconnected rural households shall be provided with Functional Household Tap Connections by December 2022 in three phases.
Under phase-I, Srinagar, Ganderbal, Pulwama, Shopian, Reasi, Samba and Poonch districts shall be covered. While as in Phase-II, connections in seven districts namely Doda, Udhampur, Kathua, Jammu, Bandipore, Kulgam, and Budgam will commence from June 2021.
The third phase which will begin by December 2021 and connections would be provided in the districts of Anantnag, Kupwara, Baramulla, Ramban, Kishtwar and Rajouri.
Meanwhile according to the data of Jal Shakti Ministry, Jammu & Kashmir has so far covered 8,66,094 households which is 47.69 percent.
Rukhsana Ali, a house wife who resides in Theed area of Srinagar has endured the hardships in fetching water from open water sources particularly in winters when temperature is recorded in Minus Celsius. (KNS)
