Bihar minister disputes Centre data, flags higher number in state scheme

Thursday, 19 August 2021Newsdesk

BIHAR WATER Resources Minister Sanjay Kumar Jha on Wednesday disputed figures reported by the Centre on the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) dashboard, saying only 8.44 lakh tap water connections have been provided in Bihar under the central scheme for rural households, and not 1.46 crore as shown. The rest of the tap water connections, Jha said, were provided under two other schemes, including Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal scheme which is run by the Nitish Kumar government on its own and which accounts for the largest chunk of the total number.

New Delhi, 19 August 2021

As per news report of The Indian Express, This is the first time a state — one ruled by the JD(U) in alliance with the BJP — has disputed the figures on the JJM dashboard. Reacting to The Indian Express report based on dashboard figures that say Bihar provided 1.46 crore tap water connections to rural households under the JJM since it began in 2019, Jha in a tweet gave the breakup of the connections under different schemes. “Thanks to vision of Hon CM Shri @NitishKumar, 87% of Bihar rural households have access to clean tap water. The scheme-wise breakup of tap connections provided in Bihar is as follows: 1. Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal: 152.16 lakh; 2. Jal Jeevan Mission: 8.44 lakh; and 3. NRDWP: 2.32 lakh,” tweeted Jha, who is also the national general secretary of the JD(U). The Bihar minister’s objection is significant as Bihar has the single largest contribution in the central data. If Bihar’s numbers are discounted, the national figure will drop to 3.36 crore from 4.74 crore as reported on the JJM dashboard on Wednesday.

Source -indianexpress.com