Jal Jeevan Mission will save 1.36 lakh children every year: Nobel Laureate Michael Kremer paper

New Delhi: The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi government that targets to provide safe and adequate drinking water to all rural households in India by 2024 would help save 1.36 lakh lives of children under 5 year age every year, a paper co-authored by Nobel Laureate Michael Kremer argues.

However, this will require that water delivered through JJM is free from microbiological contamination, noted the paper entitled ‘Potential Reduction in Child Mortality through Expanding Access to Safe Drinking Water in India’. The paper published by the University of Chicago has been co-authored by Michael Kremer, Akanksha Saletore, Witold Wiecek and Arthur Baker.

Providing piped water is an important step towards improving water quality. However, it is critical that it be free of microbial contamination. Even in cases where water is treated at a central location, negative pressure in pipes can cause contamination. For example, a 2019 study in Maharashtra found high rates (37 per cent) of E. coli contamination in piped water samples, the paper noted.

“Treatment of water closer to the point of use may be necessary in systems where water pressure is not constant,” it said.

Jal Jeevan Mission, the flagship programme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi government, has yielded remarkable results after three years of its inception. The programme has successfully provided more than 50 per cent of households with tap water supply in their homes.

Goa, Telangana, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadar and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Puducherry, and Haryana have already attained 100 per cent home connectivity. Punjab, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and Bihar have more than 90 per cent coverage and are rapidly approaching the ideal of ‘Har Ghar Jal’, as per the latest government data.

Jal Jeevan Mission is a flagship programme of the Government of India which was announced by the prime minister from the ramparts of Red Fort on August 15, 2019. The mission aims to make provision potable tap water supply in adequate quantity, of prescribed quality and on a regular and long-term basis to every rural household in the country by 2024. The program is implemented by the Government of India in partnership with States and Union Territories.