Letters to THE EDITOR: Will Assam meet the Har Ghar Jal target?

Will Assam meet the Har Ghar Jal target?

Assam continues to bear the brunt when it comes to water quality affected (QA) habitations are concerned. The solution to the problem depends on the success of the 2024 target set by The Har Ghar Jal Scheme under the JJM (Jal Jeevan Mission) for treated tap water supply to every household.

Assam tops the list of Indian states insofar as iron-affected water is concerned. The state has as many as 10,078 iron-affected habitations.

According to statistics made available by the office of the chief engineer of PHE (Public Health Engineering), 27 of the 35 Assam districts are iron affected (The Sentinel's front page report of November 14, 2022). Biswanath tops the list of iron-affected districts in the state with 1,397 such habitations. Iron-affected districts following Biswanath are Darrang with 1,189, Golaghat with 984, Tinsukia with 821, Dhemaji with 780, Dibrugarh with 698, Udalguri with 675, Sivasagar with 540, Nagaon with 451, Sonitpur with 448, Charaideo with 411, Dhubri with 396, Kokrajhar with 287, Lakhimpur with 257, Jorhat with 220, etc.

The Har Ghar Jal Scheme under the JJM (Jal Jeevan Mission) has set a 2024 target for treated tap water supply to every household. According to an official of the PHE Chief Engineer, works for the supply of treated tap water at 2153 of the 10,078 iron-affected habitations are underway. The works are at various stages of progress.

Topo Singha,

Milan Nagar, Barbari, Guwahati