Nal se Jal Scheme {नल से जल योजना}

The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi launched the ‘Nal se Jal’ scheme along with the Water and Sanitation Sector. The primary aim of ensuring piped water for every household by the year 2024. From the total of 17.87 crore households of rural areas, 81.67% of the houses do not have access to tap water yet. 

The scheme will be executed via four levels of institutional mechanisms: Gram Panchayat, District, State, and National level. The user groups, women, and the Paani Samitis play a crucial role in this project. The guidelines for this scheme were created by the Centre while consulting the State Governments.

Objective

The primary aim of the scheme is to upgrade the current tap water exposure in the household of rural areas from 18-19% to fully 100% operational in the upcoming five years, which is by 2024. It is planned to achieve the desired goal by 2030 while working together with the United Nations of Sustainable Development Goals. However, it is aimed that the goals will be achieved probably by the Jal Jeevan Mission by 2024. This scheme also includes sustainability projects like Groundwater recharge, Rainwater harvesting, and some other preservation methods. Plus, the greywater management and re-using of it. 

The focus of the scheme is to supply the water along with infrastructure creation and water management. The scheme pays attention to the sequential planning of the scheme. Managing the demand in the water-stressed places in India is another challenge that needs a specific plan. 

Features

• Piped water supply and planned infrastructure for taped water supply connection for the households.

• Reliable and clean drinking water supply for the development of the already existing water sources.

• Transfer the water resources supply to places where the water quality and quantity are not good.

• Technological involvement in the water supply and making the supply more portable.

• Greywater management with domestic wastewater produced.

• Capacity construction of the numerous stakeholders and to sustainable activities to assist the implementation.

Budget 

The total budget of the project is estimated at INR 3.60 lakh crores. The funds will be shared among the Centre and State will be 100% for the Union Territories, 50:50 for the other states, 90:10 for the North-Eastern and the Himalayan States.

For assessing the funds for the scheme, the MPLADS, MLALADS, State Finance Commission, District Mineral Development Fund, MGNREGA are proposed for the drinking water supply. This way, there will be no formation of a similar water supply infrastructure, which is different from the pre-approved plan. The Rashtriya Jal Jeevan Josh will operate and accept the contribution or donations from the numerous sources for funding this scheme.

Implementation of ‘Nal se Jal’ Scheme

The scheme will be implemented through the four levels of institutional mechanisms, which are- Gram Panchayat, District, State, and National level. The user groups, women, and the Paani Samitis have a crucial role to play in this project. As the women were great support for the Swachh Bharat Mission, they have an important role to play here. They will be given the leadership, and they will be the primary beneficiary to promote women empowerment. In the Paani Samiti, it is mandatory to have at least 50% women representation.

The Paani Samitis are the legislative committee of the Gram Panchayats. These committees are needed for the contribution, ownership, and overall community participation of the people living in rural areas under this project. The committees will help in reaching the goals even faster.

Before this scheme, the water was divided among the different ministries. After the formation of the Ministry of Jal Shakti was formed, which now regulates the resource management of water and working on the more sustainable way of delivering the service of clean drinking water and proper sanitization? There are also some similar schemes operating under this project like the Atal Bhujal Yojana, which regulates the preservation and management of the groundwater along with the help of the communities. This plays a vital role in the Nal se Jal scheme. 

Challenges

• The primary challenge is not only providing every household in rural areas with piped water but also providing proper water supply to the taps. 

• Another big issue in India is that there is a huge difference between water demand and availability in the places which need to be fixed to operate this scheme.

• There are households in the rural areas which are hard to reach, and it is impossible to supply piped water to them, which is one of the problems that need to be addressed.

• Plus, the institutions and state factors must properly do the piped water supply service, and the implementation of the water management and sanitization services must be done carefully.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is the ‘Nal se Jal’ Scheme?

‘Nal se Jal’ scheme is a scheme for providing piped water for every household. From the total of 17.87 crore households of rural areas, 81.67% of the houses do not have access to tap water yet. 

Q. When was this scheme launched?

The Nal se Jal Scheme was launched in 2014.

Q. Who launched this scheme?

The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi launched the ‘Nal se Jal’ scheme along with the Water and Sanitation Sector.

Q. What is the primary aim of the scheme?

The primary aim of the scheme is to upgrade the current exposure of the tap water in the household of rural areas from 18-19% to fully 100% operational in the upcoming five years which is by 2024.

Q. What is the budget for the scheme?

The total budget of the scheme is INR 3.60 lakh crores. The funds are shared among the Centre and State will be 100% for the Union Territories, 50:50 for the other states, 90:10 for the North-Eastern and the Himalayan States.

Q. How was the scheme implemented?

The scheme was implemented through the four levels of institutional mechanisms, which are- Gram Panchayat, District, State, and National level.

Q. What is Paani Samiti?

The Paani Samitis are the legislative committee of the Gram Panchayats. These committees are needed for the contribution, ownership, and overall community participation of the people living in the rural areas under this project.