79.59 pc tap water claim triggers posers
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, July 25 2025: While the central government claims that nearly 80 per cent of rural households in Manipur have access to tap water under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), discrepancies on the ground suggest that the official data may not reflect the actual situation.

According to a written reply by union minister of state for Jal Shakti V Somanna in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Manipur has made significant progress in implementing the Har Ghar Jal scheme.

Of the state's 4.52 lakh rural households, 3.59 lakh have reportedly been provided with tap water connections as of July 21, 2025, a substantial rise from just 5.74 per cent coverage in 2019 to 79.59 per cent.

However, residents of Meitram village in Imphal West say otherwise.

The JJM dashboard shows that 143 out of 212 households in the village already have tap water connections, but villagers say not a single connection has been made.

A water supply scheme sanctioned for the village remains incomplete, with no operational treatment plant and an unfinished overhead tank.

While the main pipeline was laid recently, no domestic connection has been facilitated.

A villager who found her name listed among the supposed beneficiaries told The People's Chronicle that she was rather amused to find her name in the dashboard.

"No one here has a tap water connection.

We still buy water from private tankers," she said, adding that purchase of 1,000-litre potable water from private tankers costs Rs 350 and lasts only a couple of days.

Interestingly, the JJM dashboard marks the Meitram project as both "ongoing" and "functional", raising concerns about data integrity and monitoring lapses.

The absence of verification mechanisms appears to have allowed potentially inaccurate data to enter the official system, painting a misleading picture of progress.

Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, launched in August 2019, Manipur has reportedly added 3.34 lakh new tap water connections.

Financial records show the state had an opening balance of Rs 11.36 crore for the current financial year but has not drawn or utilised any new funds so far, according to data released by the Ministry.

The situation in Meitram casts doubt on whether the reported achievements of JJM in the state truly translate into functional tap water connections for rural households on the ground or are there similar situations of fake reports being uploaded in other rural areas.

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