Background

Before 1974, the execution of Rural Drinking Water Schemes was managed under a centrally aided scheme. In 1974-75, the responsibility shifted to a state-aided scheme under the Minimum Requirement Program. However, in 1977, a resource deficit at the state level prompted the Central Government to reintroduce its centrally aided scheme, thus restarting the Rural Drinking Water Supply scheme. In 1984, a state-aided drinking water scheme specifically for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was launched.
In 2000, the Government of India implemented the Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana, and in 2003, the schemes for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes and the Minimum Requirement Program were merged into this initiative.
In 2009, the National Rural Drinking Water Supply Program was introduced to enhance the existing quick drinking water schemes. This program integrated the state-aided and operated drinking water schemes and allocated 10 to 15 percent of the funds for construction, operation, and maintenance to ensure the sustainability of water sources and schemes. However, in 2017, the Government of India revised the guidelines and abolished the provisions for sustainability, operation, and maintenance. Currently, the National Rural Drinking Water Program operates with a 50:50 financial support ratio from the Centre and the State.
In 2016-17, a State Rural Drinking Water Scheme, funded by the state government, was launched to address priorities related to rural drinking water that were not covered by the central government's priorities. Additionally, under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Yojana, drinking water supply schemes are being implemented in minority-dominated districts.
The Jal Jivan Mission, launched by the Jal Shakti Mantralaya, Government of India, merged with the National Rural Drinking Water Supply Scheme. The mission aims to provide piped drinking water to every household in the state by 2024. The Government of India has issued detailed guidelines for this mission, and the Government of Uttar Pradesh has also provided guidelines for its implementation in the state, as outlined in their G.O. No. 190/76-1-2020-25 Sam/2019 dated January 24, 2020.

Coverage of rural settlements with drinking water

Currently, according to a survey conducted by the Central Government under the Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission, there are 97,494 populated villages in the state. The total population of these villages is 16.94 crores. Additionally, the state has a total of 259,739 settlements, as per the Government of India's operated portal https://ejalshakti.gov.in/imisreports/.

General Coverage

All settlements in the state have been provided with drinking water facilities through hand pumps or pipe schemes, meeting the minimum standard of 40 liters of water per person per day. A total of 2,895,361 hand pumps have been installed in the state's rural areas, with one hand pump for every 58 people. Consequently, all villages and settlements in the state meet the minimum water requirement standard of 40 liters per person per day.

Covered with Pipe Drinking Water Scheme

The Government of India aims to provide piped drinking water (FHTC) to all rural households by 2024 under the Jal Jivan Mission. As of March 2020, approximately 25.124 million people have benefited from this initiative, covering 30,850 out of 259,739 total rural settlements in the state through 5,899 rural drinking water schemes. FHTC has been provided to 1.067 million households in the villages and settlements served by these piped drinking water schemes. Additionally, 982,000 combination holders have been registered on the official Government of India portal https://ejalshakti.gov.in/imisreports/, out of the total 1.067 million beneficiaries.

Priority decided by Government of India/State Government

The Government of India has prioritized providing hygienic piped drinking water to every household in the state under the National Rural Drinking Water Supply Scheme. According to the guidelines, the use of hand pumps is generally discouraged. For villages affected by water quality issues, treatment plants may be provided, or in cases where no other options are available, very deep hand pumps may be installed to address problems such as arsenic or fluoride contamination. Currently, the primary focus is on supplying piped drinking water to every household.
Efforts are underway to provide FHTC to all remaining households, with a baseline survey being prioritized through 5,899 ongoing schemes. The following priorities have been established under the rural drinking water supply schemes:
(Note: The list of priorities can follow here as per the original text or provided details.)

Completing under-construction piped drinking water projects.

Addressing areas affected by drinking water quality issues such as JE/AES and providing drinking water arrangements in villages affected by arsenic and fluoride.

Arranging drinking water in selected villages under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.

Execution of schemes

The following programs are being operated in the state to provide drinking water through piped drinking water schemes in the rural areas :

1. Jal Jivan Mission (Erstwhile National Rural Drinking Water Program
At the start of FY 2017-18, there were 1,585 piped drinking water projects under construction as part of the National Rural Drinking Water Scheme, with an additional 104 new projects initiated between 2017-18 and 2018-19. Over these two fiscal years, a total of 948 projects were completed: 436 in 2017-18 and 512 in 2018-19. By the beginning of FY 2019-20, 741 projects were still under construction, and 426 new projects had commenced in areas affected by water quality issues. Consequently, a total of 1,167 projects were under construction under the Jal Jivan Mission. In FY 2019-20, 341 projects were completed by March 2020. The tendering process is ongoing for 339 newly approved projects as of March 14, 2020, with work set to start soon. These projects aim to provide 2.09 lakh Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC).
Furthermore, the tendering process is ongoing for 76 additional projects approved on March 14, 2020, which are prioritized by the Government of India to provide 100% FHTC. These projects are expected to deliver 56,226 FHTC. In addition to these efforts, assessment work is underway, with assessments worth Rs. 949 crore prepared for 1,102 projects, aiming to provide 9.59 lakh FHTC.
For the FY 2020-21, under Jal Jivan Mission, the details of expense as prescribed by Central government and the state share are noted against each:-

At the beginning of FY 2020-21, a total of Rs. 1,058.63 crores is available under the Jal Jivan Mission. As of May 2020, Rs. 51.80 crores have been expended from this amount.

Drinking Water Arrangement in the villages affected with quality of drinking water

A total of 20 districts in the state are affected by the problem of JE/AES. In these districts, the Health Department identified 3,089 villages as "sensitive" during the year 2011-12. Similarly, an identification program was conducted to locate settlements affected by chemical impurities in water through drinking water inspections. A survey carried out between 2007 and 2009 identified 9,344 such settlements. Priority has been given to villages and settlements where arsenic and fluoride are present in high quantities. In total, 1,444 settlements affected by arsenic and 2,386 settlements affected by fluoride have been identified in the state. Most of these villages and settlements have been provided with hygienic drinking water through the establishment of piped water or water treatment plants. The details of the remaining settlements to be covered, according to the updated status as of March 2020, are as follows:

According to the guidelines of the Government of India, settlements affected by arsenic and fluoride are planned to be covered by December 2020.

1. Neer Nirmal Project (World Bank aided) – in 14 Districts

Four lower-income states in the country—Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh—were selected for the Neer Nirmal project to improve sanitation standards and drinking water facilities. The project is being executed in two phases in the state as follows:
Batch-1: In Batch-1, a total of 246 village panchayats from nine districts (Allahabad, Bahraich, Gonda, Ballia, Ghazipur, Deoria, Basti, Kushinagar, and Gorakhpur) have been selected to receive piped drinking water. Among these villages, 231 piped water projects are in progress, comprising 218 single-village projects and 13 small multi-village projects. The total construction cost of these projects is Rs. 418.69 crore, of which Rs. 391.19 crore has been expended. All 231 projects have been commissioned, and 151 projects have been handed over to the village panchayats.
Batch-2: In Batch-2, a total of 547 village panchayats from 11 districts (Allahabad, Bahraich, Gonda, Ballia, Ghazipur, Kushinagar, Sonbhadra, Fatehpur, Varanasi, Siddharthnagar, and Sant Kabir Nagar) have been selected to receive pure drinking water through piped water projects. A total of 355 piped water projects are in progress, including 251 single-village projects and 104 multi-village projects. The total construction cost of these projects is Rs. 1,030.32 crore, with Rs. 634.64 crore already expended. Eighty-two projects have been commissioned.
According to the guidelines of the Government of India, the operation of the above-mentioned scheme was suspended from FY 2020-21, and the remaining works are to be financially supported under the Jal Jivan Mission. At the end of the previous financial year, Rs. 117.08 crore remained with the Jal Jivan Mission under this scheme, and this balance amount has been expended.
State Rural Drinking Water Program: The state government initiated the State Rural Drinking Water Scheme using its own financial resources in FY 2016-17. By the beginning of FY 2016-17, a total of 172 piped drinking water projects (T.T.S.P.) were underway in various districts. Of these, 23 projects were completed in FY 2017-18 and 2018-19. Currently, 166 projects are under construction, including those sanctioned in FY 2019-20. Works are also being conducted in the districts of Agra, Gonda, Unnao, and Mainpuri, as announced by the Hon'ble Chief Minister. By March 2020, a total of 46 projects had been completed out of the ongoing projects.
No budget provision has been sanctioned for this program in FY 2020-21. A total amount of Rs. 88.46 crore was available from funds received until last year, with Rs. 3.71 crore expended by March 2020.

Bundelkhand Package and Border Area Development Program

At the state level, these schemes are being executed by the Planning Department. Additional funds are sanctioned by the Government of India as Central Assistance to support development works in specific regions of the state.

Special Bundelkhand Package

The implementation of the aforementioned scheme is being carried out in the seven districts of the Bundelkhand area of the state. In the first phase, the entire amount of Rs. 91.63 crore received was fully utilized. During this phase, 2,725 hand pumps were installed and 12 piped drinking water projects were completed. In the second phase of the Bundelkhand package, 51 piped drinking water projects were sanctioned. By the end of FY 2018-19, 44 of these projects were completed. In FY 2019-20, a total of seven projects were undertaken, with two completed by March 2020. For FY 2019-20, a total amount of Rs. 64.65 crore was available, including the carryover from the previous fiscal year, of which Rs. 16.65 crore was expended. By May 2020 in FY 2020-21, Rs. 1.38 crore had been spent.

Border Area Development Program

Under the Border Development Area Program, works are carried out within a predefined distance from the international border. In this scheme, eight districts of the state—Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Mahrajganj, and Siddharthnagar—are involved. Since FY 2017-18, 13 piped drinking water projects have been sanctioned under this program, in addition to hand pump installations. Of these, eight projects have been completed, and five are currently under construction. In FY 2019-20, the total available funds amounted to Rs. 8.63 crore, including the carryover from the previous fiscal year. By March 2020, Rs. 6.61 crore of this amount had been expended.

3. Pradhan Mantra Jan Vikas Program

According to Government of India guidelines, various welfare schemes for minority welfare are operated in minority-dominated areas of the state. By the end of FY 2017-18, 257 projects worth Rs. 659.00 crore had been approved across various districts. Of these, seven projects were surrendered due to unavailability of land or because the villages were involved in other piped drinking water schemes. By March 2019, a total of 61 projects had been completed. In FY 2019-20, 189 projects were under implementation, with six projects completed by March 2020 and more than 75% progress achieved on 55 projects. Out of the total available funds of Rs. 95.58 crore, including the carryover from the previous fiscal year, Rs. 66.21 crore had been expended by the end of FY 2019-20. As of May 2020, Rs. 3.06 crore had been expended from the carryover amount.

4. Operation and maintenance of piped drinking water projects in rural areas

In 1975, the Uttar Pradesh Water Supply and Sewer Management Act was established to develop water supply and sewer-related services. For the operation of these schemes at the state level, the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam (Rural) was constituted, along with regional institutions such as the Water Institute in Jhansi and Garhwal/Kumaon (now in Uttarakhand).
Responsibilities and rights related to rural drinking water projects were delegated to the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam (Rural), except for projects in the Bundelkhand area, as per Government of Uttar Pradesh notifications No. 3426/9-2(3)-79 dated August 1, 1979, and No. 2894/9-2-87-57 (93)-87 dated March 16, 1988. With the empowerment of the Panchayati Raj system, the operation and maintenance of piped drinking water projects in rural areas are now being undertaken by the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam (Rural), Jhansi/Chitrakoot Water Institution, and village Panchayats. The description and progress of the schemes operated by these institutions are as follows:

In addition to the above, a total of 238 piped drinking water projects have been completed to serve villages affected by AES/JE, comprising 83 projects in FY 2017-18 and 155 projects in FY 2018-19. By March 2020, 47 projects had been completed out of the 247 projects under construction for the Jal Jivan Mission in FY 2019-20.
Separate financial assistance is being provided to 462 settlements affected by Arsenic and Fluoride through inclusion in projects under the National Drinking Water Quality Mission initiated by the Government of India. Under this initiative, 103 projects were completed in FY 2017-18 and 61 in FY 2018-19 to provide safe drinking water to villages affected by Arsenic and Fluoride. By March 2020, 23 projects had been completed out of 138 projects under construction in FY 2019-20.
Furthermore, the establishment of 506 Water Treatment Plants has been completed in villages affected by Arsenic and Fluoride, achieving the target of 506 WTPs.

5. Installation of Hand Pumps on the selected places by Hon’ble MLAs :

Under the Quick Economic Development Scheme in FY 2017-18 and 2018-19, each Hon’ble MLA and MLC was granted approval to install 100 Hand Pumps in their designated area. Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam (Rural) oversees the installation of hand pumps in 66 districts of the state, while Uttar Pradesh Agro handles the same responsibility in 9 districts.

In FY 2017-18

In FY 208-19

Piped Drinking Water Project – Physical Progress

Financial Progress