Srinagar, Ganderbal achieve full coverage; Jammu lowest at 66.71%
Srinagar, Jun 30: Jammu and Kashmir has recorded a significant expansion in rural drinking water infrastructure under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), with household tap water coverage increasing from 5.75 lakh in August 2019 to 15.64 lakh till today, marking an addition of 9.88 lakh Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTCs).
Overall, rural tap water coverage has risen from 29.90 per cent to 81.26 per cent across the Union Territory, according to the data accessed by Rising Kashmir.
According to the latest Jal Jeevan Mission details, Jammu and Kashmir has 19.24 lakh rural households, of which 15.64 lakh now have tap water connections, leaving about 3.60 lakh households yet to be covered.
District-wise figures show Srinagar and Ganderbal have achieved 100 per cent household tap water coverage, becoming the only districts where every rural household has a functional tap connection. Srinagar has covered all 10,407 rural households, while Ganderbal has achieved full coverage for its 41,551 households.
Shopian follows with 93.66 per cent coverage, having provided tap water to 42,234 of its 45,093 rural households. Anantnag has reached 92.93 per cent by covering 1,23,516 of 1,32,909 households, while Kulgam stands at 90.98 per cent with 55,625 of 61,138 households connected. Reasi has achieved 90.96 per cent coverage by connecting 72,544 of its 79,754 households.
Among other districts, Bandipora has attained 89.72 per cent coverage with 41,572 connections out of 46,337 households. Budgam has covered 1,14,141 of 1,27,847 households (89.28 per cent), while Baramulla has reached 88.58 per cent with 1,29,481 connections. Pulwama has connected 70,727 of its 82,257 households, taking coverage to 85.98 per cent, while Kupwara has reached 82.68 per cent with 1,29,664 households covered.
Ramban has achieved 80.11 per cent coverage with 48,696 households connected, followed by Poonch at 79.38 per cent (84,971 households), Udhampur at 79.37 per cent (79,220 households) and Doda at 79 per cent with 1,00,673 tap water connections. Kishtwar has covered 43,223 households, translating into 75.68 per cent coverage.
The districts requiring greater attention remain Kathua, Samba, Rajouri and Jammu. Kathua has achieved 74.85 per cent coverage with 1,04,372 households connected. Samba has covered 54,649 of its 78,297 households (69.80 per cent), Rajouri has reached 67 per cent with 90,853 households covered, while Jammu has the lowest coverage in the Union Territory at 66.71 per cent, with 1,26,170 of its 1,89,120 rural households connected to tap water.
The latest figures reflect steady progress under the Centre’s flagship rural drinking water programme since its launch in 2019, with several districts nearing universal household tap water coverage while work continues to bridge the remaining gaps in districts that are still below the Union Territory average.
