75% rural households provided tap water connection: Jal Shakti minister

About 75 per cent of the country's rural households have been provided with tap water connections so far, Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said on Thursday. Calling it a huge milestone, Shekhawat congratulated all states for striving towards the goal. "A huge milestone in our journey as we cross the 75% mark towards #HarGharJal. Congratulations to all states and team #JalJeevanMission on striving relentlessly towards realising our PM Shri @narendramodi's vision of clean tap water for every household. One tap at a time, we are building a stronger, healthier Bharat," he said in a post on X.

According to official data, 14,46,57,889 out of a total of 19,27,94,822 rural households have been provided with tap water connection so far. Eleven states and Union Territories (UT) have achieved 100 per cent coverage in rural areas, the data showed. A total of 15 states and UTs have tap water coverage between 75-100 per cent and six states have coverage of 50-75 per cent.

Two states of Rajasthan and West Bengal have below 50 per cent coverage, according to the data. Jal Jeevan Mission, launched in 2019, aims to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India.