UP gets Rs 10,870 cr for Jal Jeevan Mission | Economic Times

The Centre has allocated Rs 10,870 crore to Uttar Pradesh under Jal Jeevan Mission in 2021-22 as the state government looks to provide 7.8 million piped water connections across 60,000 villages this year ahead of the assembly polls next year.The central allocation for the mission has been increased to Rs 10,870.50 crore from Rs 2,571 crore last fiscal and Rs 1,206 crore in 2019-20.Work under the Jal Jeevan Mission will begin in 60,000 villages in the coming days, people aware of the development said. The government will provide tap water supply in 177 arsenic and fluoride-affected habitations this year, they said. There are 26.3 million households across about 97,000 villages in the state. Out of these, only about three million, or 11.3%, households have tap water supply in their homes at present.In the last 21 months, the state has provided tap water supply to 2.49 million (9.45%) households. Despite this, there are about 23.3 million households without tap water supply in Uttar Pradesh.The state had assured availability of Rs 3,348 crore of central fund for the Jal Jeevan Mission last fiscal year, including enhanced allocation of Rs 2,571crore and opening balance of Rs 777 crore. It could utilize only Rs 2,053 crore from this fund. Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has written a letter to UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, urging him to take necessary measures to accelerate the implementation of the mission.