Express News Service
KOLKATA: Because of West Bengal’s poor performance compared to its counterparts, Jal Jeevan Mission, a project under the Ministry of Jal Shakti which targets to connect over 19 crore rural households with tap connection and water supply before next year’s Lok Sabha elections seems to be an uphill task to complete.
Despite funds being disbursed according to demand, three states, West Bengal Jharkhand, and Rajasthan, are yet to bring half of the targeted households under the project casting a shadow on the 2024 Lok Sabha deadline. The center and the state are bearing the expenditure on a 50:50 basis.
On August 15, 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the project of 3,60,000 crore with the slogan Har Ghar Jal (water at every house) and it was decided that 19.22 crore rural households across the country would be provided tap connection. At the time of the launch of the scheme, 3.23 lakh rural households out of 19.22 crore were provided with tap connections and water services.
The project’s deadline seemed to be aimed at securing electoral dividends in the next year’s Lok Sabha elections.
Records available with the Ministry of Jal Shakti, the Bengal government assessed more than 1.73 crore rural households to be brought under the mission, and to date, 64.84 lakh households have been brought under the scheme, which is 37.39 percent of the total target.
Pulak Roy, Public Health and Engineering (PHE) minister of West Bengal, on Wednesday, said in the Assembly that within March 2024, water connection and supply will be available at all targeted households. But sources in the state administration said achieving the goal would be an impossible task.
“The state government had joined the central project late. Besides, the state government renamed the scheme in Bengal as Jolswapno which resulted in complications between the Centre and the state. It is a fact that the Centre is not releasing funds under several social schemes, but we are getting funds under the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme. But meeting the deadline is a very difficult task,” said an official of the PHE.
The TMC leaders fear the Prime Minister may hold non-BJP ruled states like Rajasthan, Jharkhand, and West Bengal responsible for not achieving the target before the deadline when he will campaign in next year’s Lok Sabha elections. “But BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are yet to bring 60 percent of the targeted households,” said a TMC leader.
Jal Jeevan Mission
Target across India: Connecting 19.22 crore rural households with piped drinking water.
Achievement: 12.92 crore(67%)
In West Bengal
Target: 1,73,42,083
Target achieved: 64,84,693 families (37.39%)
Target achieved in Jharkhand: 40%
Target achieved in Rajasthan: 43%
100% target achieved: Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Telangana.
