New Delhi: The Yogi Adityanath government has announced a major relief measure under the Jal Jeevan Mission by waiving the 10% community contribution required for the ‘Har Ghar Nal’ scheme. This decision spares Uttar Pradesh’s rural population from any financial burden in accessing tap water connections.
Previously, the scheme mandated that villagers contribute 10% of the capital cost for providing tap water connections to every household. However, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath emphasized that this expense should not fall on the common people, reiterating the government’s commitment to public welfare. Other states such as Haryana, Bihar, Odisha, and West Bengal have already exempted community contributions, while Rajasthan’s government has committed to bearing the cost. In Madhya Pradesh, the decision is still under consideration.
Despite the waiver, villagers will pay a nominal Rs 50 as a maintenance fee to their Gram Panchayat under the Har Ghar Nal scheme.
The Jal Jeevan Mission aims to provide clean drinking water to rural households across Uttar Pradesh. Initially, the scheme required a 5% community contribution in villages with a higher SC/ST population and 10% in other areas. Recognizing clean drinking water as a fundamental need, the state government has now exempted rural residents from this contribution.
Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, 40,951 projects worth Rs 1.52 lakh crore have been approved in Uttar Pradesh, with the Centre and state government contributing Rs 71,714.68 crore each. By waiving the Rs 9,092.42 crore community contribution, the government has allocated Rs 2,000 crore in the current financial year’s budget, benefiting 2.33 crore families.
Bundelkhand has made remarkable progress in providing tap water access to households under the Jal Jeevan Mission. In Mahoba, 99.71% of families (1,39,621 households) now have access to tap water, followed by Jhansi at 99.15% (2,49,100 families), and Lalitpur at 99.46% (2,05,865 families). Chitrakoot leads with 99.83% coverage (1,63,698 families), while Banda has achieved 99.34% (2,67,198 families) and Hamirpur 99.32% (1,85,261 families). Jalaun has also made significant progress, with 95.87% of families (2,03,309 households) now connected.
In the Vindhya region, Mirzapur has achieved 98.34% tap water access, benefiting 3,49,292 families, while Sonbhadra has reached 80.83%, covering 2,53,938 families. These figures highlight the substantial strides made in ensuring clean drinking water for rural households in these regions.
Anurag Shrivastava, Additional Chief Secretary of the Namami Gange and Water Supply Department, stated, “Following CM Yogi’s directive, the UP government has ensured that rural residents face no financial burden for essential amenities like clean drinking water. The Rs 2,000 crore budget allocation for 2024-25 underscores our commitment to providing safe drinking water to every household.”