Government data reveals that about 44 per cent of the rural households in the areas resided by?Scheduled Tribe citizens?in the country are yet to get tap water connection.

Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Prahlad Singh Patel, while responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha said that only 1.2 crore tribal households out of 2.17 crore which is 55.3 per cent of the total number,?have tap water connection.

The minister further said that the states like Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal where more than half the rural tribal households are yet to get tap water connection.

Reportedly, the government is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) – Har Ghar Jal which is in partnership with the states. This would enable every rural household including the tribal areas in the country to have a potable tap water supply by 2024.

Responding to another question, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bishweswar Tudu said the Central Water Commission (CWC) monitors the live storage status of 146 important reservoirs in the country on a weekly basis and publishes a weekly bulletin every Thursday.?

The latest?reservoir storage bulletin showed that 86 reservoirs are 40 per cent or below their capacity.