The stage is set for providing a little over 1.92 lakh water connections in Thiruvananthapuram district in Phase I of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), the Centrally assisted initiative for ensuring functional household tap connections (FHTC) in all rural households in the country by 2024.
The works will be undertaken at a cost of ₹409.88 crore as per the administrative sanction accorded under JJM. In the district, the water supply schemes will cover 72 grama panchayats.
A majority of the water connections are to be provided through multi-village schemes (MVS).
The MVS will account for a little over 1.73 lakh of the total connections to be provided this fiscal.
The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) has been designated the implementing agency in Thiruvananthapuram district. As many as 18,747 connections would be ensured through the “retrofitting” of ongoing schemes for last-mile connectivity, a KWA official said.
The operational guidelines for JJM require panchayats to share 15% of the infrastructure cost and beneficiaries, 10%.
After a number of panchayats expressed their reluctance citing financial burden, the State government had issued orders allowing the local bodies to mobilise funds from the Asset Development Funds (ADF) of MLAs, if needed.
Total cost
On August 21, the State government had accorded administrative sanction for providing 16,48,023 FHTCs in 716 grama panchayats in the State at a cost of ₹4,343.89 crore during the current fiscal.
The water supply schemes had earlier been cleared by the JJM State Level Scheme Sanctioning Committee (SLSSC).
Implementing agency
The KWA is the implementing agency in majority of the grama panchayats.
Jalanidhi is the implementing agency in a number of grama panchayats in Kasaragod, Thrissur and Kannur districts.