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NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced the launch of Jal Jeevan Mission , which will primarily focus on providing piped water supply to all rural households by 2024.

He said over Rs 3.5 lakh crore will be spent under the mission. Modi highlighted how for seven decades a large section of the rural populace had to wait for getting safe drinking water and needed to cover many kilometers to fetch it.

In its poll manifesto, BJP had promised ‘Nal Se Jal’ (piped water for all) and the scheme was launched as soon as the government returned to power. Though the Budget had a mention of the scheme, there was no specific allocation for it.

It was on Thursday when the PM announced the estimated expenditure for the scheme which will also include works such as water conservation, irrigation, rain-water harvesting, seawater or waste water treatment, and “per drop, more crop” and micro irrigation for the farmers.

Comparing Jal Jeevan Mission to Swachh Bharat, the PM said water conservation movement should happen at grassroots level. “This campaign on water conservation should not just remain a government initiative. It should become a people’s movement like our Swacchh Bharat Abhiyan ,” he said. “We must move forward with the belief that in the next five years we have to do more than four times the work that has been done in the last 70 years for water conservation and to revive the sources of water. We cannot wait any longer,” he added.



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