100% coverage of Jal Jeevan Mission in NE by next year: Shekhawat

Guwahati, May 2: The Central government's flagship scheme Jal Jeevan Mission will have 100 per cent coverage in the northeast by 2024, Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said on Monday.

Concerning the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) for rural areas in the northeast, the minister said that the states have made "great progress", citing Assam as an example, which began with about 1 per cent coverage and has now reached about 50 per cent.

"By 2024, we hope to have 100 per cent coverage in the northeast," Shekhawat said.

The minister also said that the funds for building drinking water plants were included under the Jal Jeevan Mission and only pure drinking water is made available to the people.

Shekhawat, who presided over the Brahmaputra board's 12th high-powered review meeting during the day, said the board has been studying and working to maximise the region's water resources.

He also said that the northeastern region may soon get a water resource management body.

The new body will engage with the states and the Centre to find holistic solutions to the region's water-related concerns, Shekhawat said.

"The northeastern water management authority was proposed to provide a new direction with a holistic approach. The states have mostly agreed, and the proposal has been sent to the Union Cabinet," Shekhawat said.

"I am confident that the body will be approved during the next Parliamentary session," he added.

The minister also said that the northeastern states are in a "crisis of either too much or too little water".