GNS ONLINE NEWS PORTAL
SHAFQAT SHEIKH
CHENAB VALLEY APR 11:-The Prime Minister’s flagship program under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) was aimed to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections to all rural households in India by 2024. The program emphasizes source sustainability and includes mandatory elements such as greywater management, water conservation, and rainwater harvesting. JJM adopts a community-centric approach to water management and integrates extensive information, education, and communication as key components. The mission seeks to create a public movement (Jan Andolan) for water, making it a priority for everyone.
•Vision
Every rural household will have access to a reliable supply of drinking water of prescribed quality and in adequate quantity on a regular and long-term basis, with affordable service delivery charges, ultimately leading to an improvement in the living standards of rural communities.
•Mission
The Jal Jeevan Mission aims to assist, empower, and facilitate:– States and Union Territories (UTs) in planning participatory rural water supply strategies to ensure long-term potable drinking water security for every rural household and public institution, such
such as Gram Panchayat (GP) buildings, schools, Anganwadi centres, health centres, wellness centres, and other government and private establishments.
– The establishment of water supply infrastructure ensures that every rural household has a functional tap connection (FHTC) by 2024, with a regular water supply in adequate quantity and prescribed quality.
Since the launch of flagship programs,- States and UTs have developed plans for their drinking water security.
– GPs and rural communities to plan, implement, manage, operate, and maintain their in-village water supply systems.
– States and UTs to create strong institutions focusing on service delivery and financial sustainability by promoting a utility approach.
– Capacity building of stakeholders and raising community awareness about the importance of water for improving the quality of life.
– Mobilization of financial assistance to states and UTs for the mission’s implementation.
•Objectives
The broad objectives of the Jal Jeevan Mission are:
– To provide FHTCs to every rural household.
– To prioritize the provision of FHTCs in quality-affected areas, villages prone to drought and desert conditions, and Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) villages, among others.
– To ensure functional tap connections are available in schools, Anganwadi centres, GP buildings, health centres, wellness centres, and community buildings.
– To monitor the functionality of tap connections.
– To promote voluntary ownership among local communities through contributions in cash, kind, or labour (shramdaan).
– To support the sustainability of water supply systems, including water sources, infrastructure, and funds for regular operation and maintenance.
– To empower and develop human resources in the sector to meet demands for construction, plumbing, electrical work, water quality management, water treatment, catchment protection, and operation and maintenance.
– To raise awareness about the significance of safe drinking water and engage stakeholders in making water everyone’s business.
•Components under JJM
The Jal Jeevan Mission supports the following components:
– Fund sourcing with a focus on convergence.
– Develop an in-village piped water supply for all rural households.
– Establish and augment reliable drinking water sources.
– Implementation of bulk water transfer, treatment plants, and distribution networks.
– Technological interventions for water quality improvement.
– Retrofitting of schemes to provide FHTCs at a minimum of 55 litres per capita per day (lpcd).
•Greywater Management Initiatives
Key support activities include:
– Information, Education, and Communication (IEC)
– Human Resource Development (HRD)
– Training programs
– Establishment of utilities
– Creation of water quality laboratories
– Water quality testing and surveillance
– Research and Development (R&D)
– Development of knowledge centres
– Capacity building for communities
Additionally, we will address unforeseen challenges or issues arising from natural disasters or calamities, which could impact our mission to achieve Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTCs) for every household by 2024. This effort aligns with the Ministry of Finance’s guidelines regarding Flexi Funds.
•Failed Initiative to Combat Corruption.
Once the mission was approved, every district in Jammu and Kashmir was prioritised, especially the rural areas, to address the scarcity of drinking water. Various contractors were assigned the work, and thousands of pipes—both plastic and iron—were issued for laying the gravity pipeline from the source to the reservoir. Unfortunately, many pipes are now lying unused by the roadside, raising questions about how the contractors executed the work.
Several reservoirs were also sanctioned for construction, but the work was allotted to contractors who used substandard materials. This resulted in damages before the reservoirs could even be made usable.
There is a significant outcry among civil society members. During the ongoing session of the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir, many legislators referred to this situation as a major scam and a failed initiative severely plagued by corruption. The legislature is demanding an inquiry through a committee formed by the house and calling for action against all those involved in this scandal.
The collective voice against this failed initiative is forcing the Administration to take action, but what will happen if rural communities continue to suffer from a lack of safe drinking water? The district administration needs to concentrate on rural areas to assess the quality and quantity of work being done for the community’s welfare, as inspections often occur primarily in cities and towns as a mere photo opportunity.
There is an urgent need to file a Public Interest Litigation and initiate a judicial inquiry into the Jal Jeevan Mission, which has been tarnished by corruption and has resulted in significant losses to the state treasury.
(The author is a Freelance Writer and Columnist from Bunjwah Kishtwar and can be reached at freelancershafqat@gmail.com 09419974577, 9419281321).
