Date : 06 Mar 2022
Target To Achieve 100% Tap Water Connectivity To All Rural Households
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- The Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat chaired a Regional Conference of Ministers from 6 States and 2 Union Territories at Vidhana Soudha, Bengaluru to review the progress made under Jal Jeevan Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen.
- The 6 participating States and 2 UTs were Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Puducherry and Lakshadweep.
- Government accords top priority to Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) and Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) which is evident from the funds allocated by the Centre to the States/ UTs for the implementation of these two flagship programmes.
- There is a need to bridge the gap between the rural and urban
- Both JJM and SBM(G) have travelled half way and people need to understand the importance of taking forward these programmes.
- Jal Jeevan Mission is the world’s largest drinking water project. When the programme was launched, we were at 17% and today we have provided nearly 6 Crore tap water connections in the last 2½ years and stand at 47%, despite challenges of Covid-19.
- We are marching ahead to achieve 100% tap water connectivity to all rural households of the country.
- JJM is not just a programme of laying water supply infrastructure, we need to ensure long term sustainability and functionality through water source strengthening, grey water management, community participation, empowerment, etc. so that water is available for the next 30 years as per the design of the water supply scheme
- The Ministry is committed to provide drinking water of prescribed quality to every rural household.
- Jal Jeevan Mission aims at skill upgradation of villagers as mason, plumber, pump operator, fitter, technician, electrician for construction, repair and maintenance of water supply infrastructure created under the programme.
- It will help boost the rural economy.
- SBM(G) achieved the impossible task of increasing the sanitation coverage in just 5-years from 39% in 2014 to 100% by 2019.
- Under the programme, 10.28 Crore toilets were built in the country and all the districts declared themselves Open Defecation Free (ODF).
- It is the world’s largest behaviour change programme.
- As ODF was just a landing platform, under SBM(G) Phase-II we aim to make villages ODF Plus thereby ensuring that ODF status is maintained. The GPs are taking up solid and liquid waste management under the Village Action Plan.”
- Under SBM, Sujalam campaign was started which focuses on creation of grey water management assets to accelerate momentum in ODF Plus villages. The campaign assigns priority to grey water management, conserving and cleaning water bodies and retrofitting of single pit toilets to twin-pit toilets. Over 5.03 lakh household level soak pits and more than 78,000 community soak pits/ leach pits/ magic pits have been built in the 6 participating States.
- SBM(G), is the world’s largest sanitation drive; more than 6 lakh villages declared themselves ODF on 2nd October 2019 as a tribute to the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
