Under the Central flagship Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scheme, for the first time, all arsenic and fluoride-hit areas across the States are now covered with Community Water Purification Plants (CWPPs). These structures, though temporary arrangement, have been installed in all 582 arsenic and 420 fluoride-affected habitats, aiming to safeguard the residents from the harmful health effects of contaminated water due to these two elements.
Arsenic and fluoride are recognised worldwide as the most serious inorganic contaminants in drinking water. The CWPPs, especially in arsenic and fluoride-affected habitations, can provide potable water to every household at the rate of 8-10 litre per capita per day (lpcd) to meet their drinking and cooking requirements, said an official from the Department of Water Resources overseeing the JJM scheme.
Launched in 2019, JJM's mandate is to make provision of potable tap water supply in adequate quantity, of prescribed quality on a regular and long-term basis to every rural household by 2024 through Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTCs), with priority given to contaminated affected regions.
However, while habitations in arsenic and fluoride-affected water supply areas have been covered with these CWPPs, the Government continues to strive to make the regions free from other contaminants such as iron, salinity, nitrate, and heavy metals. These zones are yet to be provided with potable water.
Since contaminants such as iron, nitrite, and salinity found in various places contaminate water and threaten the well-being of residents, a Parliamentary panel, in a report submitted to the Lok Sabha on Thursday, sought effective measures for reducing the number of habitations affected by such health hazards, including setting up CWPPs within three months.
It said these areas also needed to be covered by temporary measures to provide immediate relief to the remaining population living in 50 per cent of quality-affected habitations.
The panel has asked the department to impress upon the States the need to take measures that could provide an immediate solution, such as mobile water vans/tankers carrying safe and clean drinking water or installation of small water purification dispensers, until all such habitations are provided with piped drinking water from a good quality source, besides taking measures for a permanent solution to the contamination problem under the scheme. According to data available from the Government, most habitations' drinking water sources are contaminated with salinity and iron.
Assam (6,749) tops the list followed by Odisha (1,118) with a number of villages where drinking water sources are affected by iron.
The other States affected by iron contamination are Tripura (326), Uttar Pradesh (209), Bihar (66), and Kerala (58).
Regarding habitations affected by nitrate and salinity, Rajasthan tops the list. The State is home to around 8,840 villages affected by salinity and 436 villages affected by nitrate contamination.
Under the JJM, as of January 30, 2024, the number of households having tap water connections stands at 14,21,22,013 households, which accounts for approximately 73.76 per cent of the total covered under the mission. This is a significant number given that at the start of the Mission scheme, only 3.23 crore (16.65 per cent) rural households had tap water connections.