What is the primary goal of the Jal Jeevan Mission?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
Correct Answer
Providing piped drinking water to households
Explanation
The primary goal of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) is to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) to all households in rural India. Launched by the Government of India on August 15, 2019, this flagship program operates under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
The mission is designed to ensure a supply of 55 liters of water per person per day to every rural household, conforming to prescribed quality standards. The ultimate vision is to relieve rural populations, particularly women and children, from the physical burden of traveling long distances to fetch water from shared or unsafe natural sources. The program emphasizes a decentralized, community-managed approach where local village water and sanitation committees (Pani Samitis) take charge of planning, implementing, managing, and maintaining their own in-village water supply systems.
The other options represent different water-related environmental and agricultural initiatives:
River conservation falls under different dedicated programs like the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) and the Namami Gange Programme.
Irrigation system modernization is primarily driven through the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) to improve on-farm water-use efficiency.
Groundwater recharge is a supportive environmental process handled by programs like the Atal Bhujal Yojana, whereas Jal Jeevan Mission focuses directly on domestic consumption delivery.
Key Points
The mission is targeted at achieving the 'Har Ghar Jal' (Water in Every Home) milestone across every rural household in India.
The program places a heavy emphasis on water quality monitoring and surveillance, mandating the training of rural women to use portable Field Test Kits (FTKs) for checking contamination.
The operational funding is shared between the Central Government and States in a 50:50 ratio for general states, 90:10 for Himalayan and Northeastern states, and 100% central funding for Union Territories.
Important Questions and Answers
Question: Which was the first state in India to achieve 100% Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) under the Jal Jeevan Mission?
Answer: Goa was the first state to achieve 100% FHTC under the mission.