Meghalaya presently has only 35.83 per cent households with tapped water supply.
According to the latest official data, the number of households in the State is 5,89,888. However, the number of households with tapped water supply is 2,11,368.
Meanwhile, the number of households with tap water connection provided since the start of the Jal Jeevan Mission in Meghalaya is 2,06,818 or 35.06 per cent.
Meghalaya has set a target to complete the Jal Jeevan Mission by December 2022.
In 2020-21, Meghalaya was amongst the seven states which received performance incentive grants under the JJM. The other six states were Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Sikkim, Gujarat, Manipur and Himachal Pradesh.
With a focus to expedite the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Meghalaya, the Government of India has released Rs 169.60 crore to the State. Central fund of Rs 678.39 Crore has been allocated to the State for 2021-22 for the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission, which is nearly four times the allocation for 2020-21.
Further in 2021-22, Rs 82 crore was allocated to Meghalaya as 15th Finance Commission grant for water and sanitation to rural local bodies and there is an assured funding of Rs 426 crore for the next five years i.e. up to 2025-26 to the rural local bodies.
With focus on public health, more than 2,000 water quality testing laboratories in the country have been opened to the general public so that they can get their water samples tested whenever they so desire at a nominal cost. Meghalaya has 31 water testing laboratories.
Efforts are made to ensure tap water availability for drinking, cooking mid-day meal, washing hands and usage in toilets in all schools and anganwadi centres.
Till date, 7,281 schools (55 per cent) and 2,442 (53 per cent) anganwadi centres in Meghalaya have been provided with tap water supply.
