Higher funds allocation sign of govt's priority to water, sanitation: Minister

New Delhi, March 5 Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, said on Saturday that the priority accorded by the government of India to the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) and the Swachh Bharat Mission-Rural (SBM) is evident from the funds allocated by the Centre to the states/UTs for these two flagship programmes.

Shekhawat was speaking at a regional meeting held in Bengaluru for stock taking of the JJM and SBM schemes for Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and the UTs of Puducherry and Lakshadweep.

"Funds to the tune of Rs 20,487.58 crore is allocated under JJM and an amount of Rs 1,355.13 crore is allocated under SBM for the participating states and UT of Puducherry in the current financial year. Under the 15th Finance Commission, Rs 7,498 crore has been allocated as a tied-grant to six participating states," Shekhawat said.

Talking about SBM, the minister said the campaign achieved the task of increasing the sanitation coverage in just five years from 39 per cent in 2014 to 100 per cent by 2019.

"Under the programme, 10.28 crore toilets were built in the country and all the districts declared themselves Open Defecation Free (ODF). Under SBM Phase-II, we aim to make villages ODF Plus, thereby ensuring that ODF status is maintained."

Vini Mahajan, Secretary in the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), said, "As we are entering the next financial year, it is essential that annual action plans are prepared meticulously so that our achievements meet our annual targets."

When JJM was launched, coverage was 17 per cent and as on date, after nearly six crore tap water connections were provided in the last two years, the coverage stands at 47 per cent, despite challenges of Covid-19, a release from the Ministry of Jal Shakti said.

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