Water scarcity in 22,000 villages in Maharashtra, less than 40 liters of water per capita

New Delhi : More than 22,000 people living in rural areas of Maharashtra are facing water scarcity. Despite many schemes of the Central and State Governments, the people living in these villages do not have access to even at least 40 liters of water per day to meet their daily needs.

According to the Ministry of Water Power, which was set up to provide clean drinking water to every household, about 20 percent of the country’s population does not have access to even 40 liters of water per day. The government claims, however, that about 78 percent of the population has access to 40 liters or more of water per day. The Central Government is working with the State Governments to provide drinking water to all by the year 2024. Jal Jeevan mission has been launched for this.

Under the mission, 30 per cent more priority is being given to ensure the availability of water in extreme natural conditions, desert and affected areas. A number of water conservation schemes have been implemented to alleviate water scarcity, officials said.

According to the ministry, water availability in more than three lakh rural settlements across the country is less than 40 liters per person per day. It is home to 18.27 crore people.

Rajasthan has 56,302 villages with a population of 2.41 crore, West Bengal has a population of 2.74 crore with a population of 36,711, Karnataka has a population of 1.73 crore with 33,345 villages and Maharashtra has a population of about 1.87 crore with 22,097 villages.

New technologies are being used which use less water for farming to save water. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchan Yojana has been launched with the target of Drop More Crop on the Ministry of Agriculture.