A recent nationwide survey has revealed that while Punjab performs well on several parameters of water supply, household satisfaction with the quality of tap water in the state lags behind the national average. The State of Punjab Survey Report 2024, which assessed the functionality of household tap connections under the central government's Jal Jeevan Mission, found that about 87.8% of households in Punjab expressed satisfaction with water quality. This figure is notably lower than the all-India average satisfaction rate of 92.4%.
Survey Scope and Key Findings on Water Access
The extensive survey was conducted by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under the Ministry of Jal Shakti between July 2024 and October 2024. It covered 2,37,608 households across 19,812 Har Ghar Jal villages in 761 rural districts spanning 34 states and union territories. In Punjab, the survey sampled 8,688 households from 724 villages, representing an estimated 40 lakh Har Ghar Jal households in the state.
On a positive note, Punjab outperformed the national average in several critical areas. The state reported a 95.9% availability of working tap water connections at homes, significantly higher than the national average of 86.5%. Furthermore, 93.3% of users in Punjab were satisfied with the quantity of water supplied, a full 10.2 percentage points above the national average of 83.1%. The regularity of water supply as per schedule in Punjab stood at 93.2%, compared to 83.6% nationally.
District-Wide Disparities in Potable Water Availability
The survey uncovered significant variations in access to potable water across Punjab's 23 districts. Nawanshahr district emerged as the top performer, with 94.7% of households having access to potable water. It was followed by Sangrur (93.1%), Pathankot (92.5%), and Ludhiana (91%).
Conversely, Fazilka district was at the bottom of the list, with only 52.9% of households having access to potable water. Alarmingly, sampled households in 13 districts reported less than 80% availability of potable water. These districts include Fazilka, Barnala, Gurdaspur, Muktsar, Ferozepur, Bathinda, Ropar, Faridkot, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Mansa, and Tarn Taran.
Infrastructure, Management, and Quality Metrics
Despite lower satisfaction scores on quality, the actual percentage of water samples that passed quality tests in Punjab was 79%, which is higher than the national average of 76%. The state also excelled in water disinfection mechanisms, with 91.1% availability of chlorination systems at the village level against a national average of 70.3%.
Punjab demonstrated strength in local capacity, with 81.4% availability of skilled manpower in villages for operations and management, far exceeding the national average of 58.1%. The availability of field test kits in villages (33.2%) was also above the all-India average of 27.2%.
However, the survey highlighted areas needing improvement. Institutional management was lower in Punjab, with only 46.9% of villages having active Water and Sanitation Committees (Paani Samiti), compared to the national average of 55.2%. Awareness campaigns also lagged; only 54.7% of households reported seeing signage or IEC messages on water conservation, below the national average of 62.4%.
Regarding public institutions, tap water connections were available in only 53.9% of them in Punjab, which is below the national average of 68%. However, the quality of water supplied at these institutions was slightly better in Punjab, with 73.4% of samples passing tests versus 72.8% nationally.
The survey confirms that Punjab has achieved near-universal coverage of piped water schemes in villages (99.9%) and a high percentage of functional schemes (96%). The journey now is towards ensuring equitable, high-quality, and reliably potable water for every household across all districts.
