SHILLONG, Nov 7: Meghalaya may have bagged awards for the successful implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) but a large number of households in the state still do not have access to tap water.
According to the JJM dashboard, Meghalaya has a total of 6,30,357 households and as on date, 2,63,651 (41.83%) households have tap water connections.
Out of the 6,491 villages in the state, 1,478 have 100% household tap water connections. In 2,970 others, the water supply work is in progress. The work is yet to start in 2,043 villages.
Over 50% of the households in South West Garo Hills (67.40%), East Garo Hills (66.80%) and Ri Bhoi (55.75%) districts have tap water connections. At the bottom of the list is West Khasi Hills district (29.43%).
As regards financial progress, the opening balance in 2022-23 was Rs 420.52 crore and the allocation was Rs 747.46 crore.
The JJM dashboard states that Rs 373.88 crore was drawn in the 2022-23 fiscal. The available fund is Rs 794.40 crore and the expenditure is Rs 580.61 crore.
Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat had recently lauded Meghalaya for its remarkable performance in JJM. He had stated that with 41.5% growth in tap water connectivity, Meghalaya surpassed the national growth rate of 36%.
