Karnataka: Jal Jeevan mission promises water for all, but state’s progress is a mere trickle

A survey of the functionality of tap connections under JJM reveals that 42 per cent of rural households in the state do not have fully functional tap water connections

The number of deaths and people falling sick after drinking contaminated water is increasing across Karnataka, which necessitates a hard look at the Centre’s flagship scheme Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).

A recent survey of the functionality of tap connections under JJM reveals that 42 per cent of rural households in the state do not have fully functional tap water connections.

Under the mission, with the aim of providing safe and adequate drinking water to all rural households by 2024, the state is still far from being conferred the status of ‘Har Ghar Jal’ (water connection to each house) status.

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Experts highlight that though the pipelines, borewells and other facilities for water supply have been largely provided to rural areas, efforts for their maintenance and sustainability have taken a backseat, thus bringing the progress of the mission under the scanner.

No recharge structure

The survey, which took place from February to April last year, states that the majority of the villages (67 per cent) in Karnataka get their water from groundwater sources, but alarmingly only 5 per cent of them have a recharge structure.

“When the groundwater level goes down in summer, water may turn toxic as the density of chemicals increases. With less number of testing facilities available across the state, the health of rural people is at grave risk,” says K P Suresh, a consultant on rural development.

As much as 68 per cent of the water samples tested didn’t have residual chlorine which is necessary to protect water from contaminants and only 6 per cent of the villages reported the availability of a chlorination mechanism.

Uranium contamination

Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, in March last year, had expressed concerns over uranium contamination of water in some villages of Karnataka and directed the state government to address the issue.

The condition of district laboratories for water testing is disquieting. The report finds that labs in all 30 districts “did not have the capacity to test more than 20-30 numbers of samples and had issues of human resource, regents, etc”.

Only 28 per cent of households reported that their tap water was tested in the last year and in districts such as Bengaluru Rural, Kodagu, Kolar and Udupi, not a single sample was tested.

No trained staff

As much as 47 per cent of villages do not have pump operators trained to use field test kits for testing the quality of water on-site.

As the Jal Jeevan mission is based on a community approach to water and includes extensive education and communication as key components, the presence of village water and sanitation committees (VWSCs) or Pani Samithis in every village is important.

But only 35 per cent of villages have these committees, out of which only 16 per cent currently manage the operation and maintenance of water supply.

A sizeable 56 per cent of the villages do not have the skilled manpower for the operation and maintenance of water schemes.

“This abysmal number shows the authorities are quite far from achieving the objective of promoting and ensuring voluntary ownership of the scheme by the local community and the initiative to mobilise the community is lagging. The report hides more than it reveals,” says Suresh.

Alternative facilities

As much as 34 per cent of households face water scarcity at any time of the year. Among them, 66 per cent do not have alternative water facilities to fall back on.

“The government has spent huge money on drinking water schemes to build infrastructure such as pipelines, reverse osmosis (RO) plants, tanks etc. However, no action is being taken to make the infrastructure sustainable,” says Anjaneya Reddy, a water activist.*

‘Har Ghar Jal’ status

“Karnataka will likely be in a position to be declared ‘Har Ghar Jal’ state by December 2024,” an official from Jal Jeevan mission told DH, preferring anonymity.

On the condition of district labs, he said that a total of 80 labs are being accredited by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories for checking water quality. “Recharging defunct borewells, rainwater harvesting and grey water recycling activities are being converged with MGNREGA and small water body rejuvenation activities are taking place. Training and capacity-building activities are also being taken up for various panchayat officials and VWSCs,” he added.