All rural households in Karnataka will be provided with tap water supply by 2023. In his letter to Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister of Jal Shakti, the state Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has assured 100 per cent tap water coverage to every household by 2023.

Of 9,119,000 rural households in the state, 32.86 per cent have been provided with tap water connections so far. In 2019, when the Jal Jeevan Mission, a scheme under the Ministry of Jal Shakti that aims to provide safe piped drinking water to every rural household in the country by 2024, was announced, only 26.88 per cent of households in the state had tap water supply.

Also Read: 8.4 million rural households got tap water supply in 22 months: Jal Shakti Ministry

“State has planned to provide tap water connections to 25.17 lakh (2,517,000) households in 2021-22, 17.93 lakh (1,793,000) tap water connections in 2022-23 and remaining 19.93 lakh (1,993,000) tap water connections in 2023-24 to achieve tap water supply for every rural household,” reads the recent press statement issued by Ministry of Jal Shakti on July 8.

Also Read: Sip of death: A Kol tribe toddler and her great-grandmother dead; several villagers suffer diarrhoea due to polluted water in Mirzapur, UP

To achieve this, the central government has allocated Rs 5,009 crore (Rs 50.09 billion) grant to Karnataka under the Jal Jeevan Mission for 2021-22. This is at least a four-fold increase from Rs 1,189.40 crore (Rs 11.894 billion) grant in 2020-21.

As per the data shared by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, 99 per cent of schools (41,636) and 95 per cent of anganwadi centres (51,563) in the southern state have access to piped water supply. The central government has urged the state government to ensure tap water coverage in all remaining schools, anganwadi centres ‘immediately’ for better health, improved sanitation and hygiene for children.

Also Read: Only 12% rural households in Assam have tap water supply, 100% coverage in three years: Jal Shakti Ministry