Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Not a pipe dream: On marquee schemes of the central government

Not a pipe dream: On marquee schemes of the central government

Functional tap water is a basic necessity that must be provided to all households

Among the marquee (A permanent canopy made of metal and glass projecting over an entrance) schemes that the government hopes to showcase ahead of the general election next year is the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). The aim here is to provide piped water to every rural (ग्रामीण, देहाती) household by 2024. In the Budget address, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman apportioned (बंटवारा करना, विभाजित) ₹69,684 crore, a 27% increase, from the ₹54,808 crore from the revised estimates of financial year 2022. However, the outlay (परिव्यय, खर्च) reflects the extent of the work that remains. Of the targeted 19.3 crore rural households, only 3.2 crore had piped water in August 2019. The JJM dashboard on the Jal Shakti Ministry website says that as of February 2023, over 11 crore households, or about 57% of the targeted, now have tap water. While that is an impressive jump in percentage points for three years, it will be difficult with only 12 months to go to ensure that the remaining 47% are connected. So far, only the States of Goa, Gujarat, Haryana and Telangana have reported 100% coverage of eligible households with piped water, with Punjab and Himachal Pradesh nearly there at over 97%. Excluding (निकालना) these, only 10 other States or Union Territories have reported over 60% coverage. Large, populous (घनी आबादी वाला) States such as Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan have reported only 30% coverage, and Madhya Pradesh, around 47%.

A fully functional tap water connection is defined as a household getting at least 55 litres of potable water per capita per day all through the year; however, local reports suggest that despite (इसके बावजूद) having a tap connection, several village households revert (फिर लौट आना, उलटना) to their local groundwater resources as the quality of supplied tap water is inadequate (अपर्याप्त, न्यून). Few independent assessments (मूल्यांकन, लगान) of the scheme exist. A sample survey of around 3,00,000 eligible households that was commissioned by the Ministry of Water Resources to assess the functioning of the scheme found only three-fourths of them reported water seven days a week, and, on average, households were getting water for only three hours a day. While over 90% of institutions such as anganwadis and schools reported access to tap water, several of them reported high levels of chlorine as well as problems with bacterial contamination (संदूषण, सम्मिश्रण). Moreover, the current numbers on the adoption (गोद लेना, दत्तक-ग्रहण) in households are based on self-reporting by villages and are not certified by a third party. Some States such as Bihar have stated that most of their connections were provided for under State funds and not under the JJM. Functional, permanent tap water is a basic necessity and rather than aim to reach just a numerical target, the government should try to evaluate the extent of quality, consistent adoption of tap water in rural India. While planned as a bottom-up scheme, the Centre must ensure (सुनिश्चित करना) that States with the lowest adoption and largest population be assisted with improving numbers, rather than only facilitating (आसान करना, सुगम बनाना) States that are close to the finishing line.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Rural (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - ग्रामीण, देहाती
English Meaning - Relating to the country life, or country people.

2.Apportioned (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - बंटवारा करना, विभाजित
English Meaning - To divide and assign according to some rule of proportional distribution.

3.Outlay (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - परिव्यय, खर्च
English Meaning - Spending of money.

4.Exclude (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - निकालना
English Meaning - To keep out.

5.Populous (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - घनी आबादी वाला
English Meaning - Full of residents.

6.Revert (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - फिर लौट आना, उलटना
English Meaning - Return to (a previous state, practice, topic, etc.).

7.Inadequate (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अपर्याप्त, न्यून
English Meaning - Not adequate or sufficient.

8.Despite (Preposition)

Hindi Meaning - इसके बावजूद
English Meaning - In spite of

9.Assessment (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - मूल्यांकन, लगान
English Meaning - The act or instance of making a judgment about something after evaluating it.

10.Contamination (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - संदूषण, सम्मिश्रण
English Meaning - The action or state of making or being made impure by polluting or poisoning.

11.Adoption (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - गोद लेना, दत्तक-ग्रहण
English Meaning - The process of establishing a legal relationship between a child and a parent other than the child's biological parent.

12.Ensure (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - सुनिश्चित करना
English Meaning - To secure or make certain.

13.Facilitate (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - आसान करना, सुगम बनाना
English Meaning - Make an action or process easy or easier

14.Marquee (Noun)

English Meaning - A permanent canopy made of metal and glass projecting over an entrance.