Nal Se Jal, the flagship scheme of the Narendra Modi government to provide potable drinking water to rural households across the country, has hit roadblocks. First, the implementation was slowed down by the COVID-19 pandemic and now the Russian invasion of Ukraine is threatening to delay the project.
The project is scheduled to be completed by 2024.
The Russia-Ukraine war, which has disrupted trade globally, has resulted in a sharp increase in the prices of two key raw materials used in the manufacturing of pipes — petrochemicals and steel, according to official sources.
This scheme involves creating water supply infrastructure, such as laying pipelines to provide functional tap connections to households, besides upgrading existing water supply systems.
The surge in the prices of raw materials has prompted plastic manufacturers to raise the prices of PVC (polyvinyl chloride), HDPE (high-density polyethylene), and GI (Galvanized iron) pipes, they added.
According to the information available with the Union Jal Shakti Ministry’s Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation piloting the Nal Se Jal scheme, three states and three Union territories have achieved 100 per cent coverage, 13 states, including Uttar Pradesh, continue to be a challenge.
Official sources said the implementing agency of Nal Se Jal is either not getting enough bids from suppliers of PVC, HDPE, and GI pipelines or suppliers are quoting excessively high prices because of the rising cost of steel and petrochemicals. They said the spurt in the price of pipes had slowed down the implementation of the Nal Se Jal scheme.
The Nal Se Jal programme was launched in August 2019 and has a total outlay of Rs 3.60 lakh crore of which the Centre’s share is Rs 2.08 lakh crore. The remaining Rs 1.52 lakh crore has to be borne by the states. In 2019, only 3.23 crore (17 per cent) of 19.22 crore rural households had tap water connections, as per the government data. The target of Nal Se Jal programme is to cover the remaining 16 crore (83 per cent) households by 2024.
According to the Union Jal Shakti Ministry, 100 per cent of households in Goa, Telangana, Haryana, Puducherry, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands now have tap water connections. The challenge lies with 13 states, where 95 per cent of the work is pending. On the top of this list is Uttar Pradesh, where only 13.83 per cent of households have a running supply of tap water.
Soon after the Nal Se Jal scheme was launched, work stalled because of COVID-19 pandemic as a lockdown was imposed on March 25, 2020. Then elections were announced and code of conduct was enforced. No work could happen during that time. But the Uttar Pradesh government is now awarding work in drought-prone Bundelkhand and other areas.