New Delhi, June 11 (IANS) The Central government has decided to increase coverage of piped water to households from current 18 per cent to 100 per cent by 2024, said Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat here on Tuesday.

He however, insisted that 'water' was a state subject as per the Constitution and sought collective efforts and a public movement to achieve the target.

Shekhawat said Sikkim had 99 per cent coverage of piped water to households, while some states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand had below five per cent.

--IANS spk/rtp