`3-L cr piped water scheme in works

„Budget may boost tap water for all plan

India plans to spend Rs 3 lakh crore ($41 billion) to ensure tap water is delivered to every household in the next five years, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The plan is still under discussion and is likely to be unveiled on February 1 as part of the government's budget for the year starting April 1, the people said, asking not to be identified as the proposal is not public.

The government plans to improve availability of water, modernise sewage treatment plants and better utilise the country's water resources, the people said.

The project will be part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Jal Jeevan mission.

A finance ministry spokesman was not immediately available for a comment.

Agencies add: In the run-up to the 2019 general elections, Modi promised that piped water will reach all Indian households by 2024.

According to latest Jal Jeevan Mission estimates, 66.16 per cent of the country's 19.17 crore households in villages is yet to be provided with piped water.

Providing drinking water to the country's 1.3 billion people is a pressing issue, as about 200,000 Indians die every year due to inadequate access to safe water and 600 million face high to extreme water stress, according to the Niti Aayog.

UK-based charity WaterAid estimates that about 163 million people in India, or roughly 12 per cent of the population, do not have access to clean water close to home.

Every summer water shortages tend to be more acute in large cities such as New Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru.

The country has access to only about 4 per cent of the world's water resources, and farmers consume almost 90 per cent of the groundwater water available. Nearly 60 per cent of the irrigation for agriculture comes from ground water, mainly through electric water pumps.

Supplying clean drinking water to millions of poor people and reviving moribund irrigation projects were a key part of the Modi government's policies, since the country remains at the mercy of rain gods for drinking water and farming. The monsoon accounts for nearly 70 per cent of the annual rains needed to water farms and recharge aquifers and reservoirs.

UK-based charity WaterAid estimates that about 163 million people in India, or roughly 12 per cent of the population, do not have access to clean water close to home