New Delhi, March 13 : Around 12.28 crore rural households in India have been provided with tap water connections during the last five years under the Centre's Jal Jeevan Mission taking the number of such homes to more than 15.51 crore which constitutes 79.91 per cent of the total rural households in the country, according to information tabled in Parliament.

This represents a huge jump as at the start of Jal Jeevan Mission in August 2019, only 3.23 crore or 16.8 per cent of rural households were reported to have tap water connections, Minister of State for Jal Shaktu V. Somanna said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.

The Government of India in partnership with states and UTs is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) Har Ghar Jal to make provision of potable water to every rural household of the country, through functional tap water connection at a service level of 55 litre per capita per day (lpcd), of prescribed quality on a regular and long-term basis, the Minister said.

He also highlighted that for developing in-village water supply infrastructure, water resource management, source strengthening, distribution network, treatment plant, unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled human resource is required in rural areas. Moreover, there has been procurement of material for the construction of water supply schemes therein generating employment at different levels throughout the country, boosting the manufacturing activities, thus, the economy and in the long run will enhance 'ease of living' in rural areas.

The Minister also highlighted the positive impacts of Jal Jeevan Mission as assessed by reputed national and international institutions. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that achieving saturation under JJM will result in savings of more than 5.5 crore hours of time every day, which is otherwise spent in the collection of water for household needs, primarily for women.

WHO has also estimated that ensuring safely managed drinking water for all households in the country could prevent nearly 4,00,000 deaths caused by diarrheal diseases, leading to savings of approximately 14 million Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) on account of the lives so saved.

A report released by the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, in partnership with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), estimates that implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission will result in 59.9 lakh person-years of direct and 2.2 crore person-years of indirect employment during the capex phase of JJM. Furthermore, the operation and maintenance of the mission is likely to generate 13.3 lakh person-years of direct employment.

Similarly, Nobel laureate Prof. Michael Kremer has published a research paper and has concluded that the coverage of all households with safe water is likely to lead to an almost 30 per cent reduction in mortality among children below the age of five years, amounting to 1,36,000 lives saved annually.

The Minister also said that to ensure the long-term sustainability of infrastructure created, quality material and quality construction are being ensured through third-party inspection before making payment. Moreover, to instil a sense of ownership among the rural communities and Panchayats, the aspects of village-level planning and community participation in all decisions pertaining to water supply systems have been included in the design of JJM.

/IANS