More than 1,500 Maha villages get 100 pc 'Har Ghar Jal' coverage

Every household in 1,513 villages of Maharashtra has received tap connection for drinking water under the 'Har Ghar Nal Se Jal' mission over the last few weeks, an official said on Sunday. The department of water supply and sanitisation had reached out to 1,553 villages in the state as part of a special campaign between July 25 and August 12 and managed to cover all households in 1,513 villages, the official said.

The government is committed to supplying water to all rural households by 2024 under the scheme and works are underway to provide tap water through village-level water supply schemes, said Dr Hrishikesh Yashod, mission director of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in Maharashtra.

As per official data, individual tap connections were provided in 111 villages in Nashik district, 89 in Gadchiroli, 79 in Satara, 78 in Amravati, 76 in Chandrapur, 65 in Nagpur, 52 in Jalna, 42 in Aurangabad and 17 in Palghar among other villages in the state.

The department had set a target of providing at least 55 litres of quality-controlled and consistent water supply in every household in 1,553 villages as per the JJM parameters, the official said.

At least 1,513 villages have been declared Har Ghar Jal-certified during special gram sabhas organised for the purpose, he said.

Yashod further said that earlier, people in these villages had to rely on hand pumps, wells and other sources for drinking water.

The tap connection with 55 litres of quality-controlled and consistent water supply will benefit people, especially women and children, who will now have time to engage in agriculture and education.