PHED & co-operation minister, Jacob Zhimomi, has said that out of a total of 3, 63,829 rural households in Nagaland, 3, 37,498 households have been provided with Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), which commenced in 2019-20.
The minister disclosed this while delivering keynote address as special guest at the “Regional workshop on Public health and WASH for NE states, A NeVolution initiative at Town Hall, Zone Niathu by the Park on Wednesday. NeVolution is an initiative led by NITI Aayog, Dr. Priscilla C Ngaihte. The workshop was jointly organised by NITI Aayog and Government of Nagaland.
Jacob Zhimomi maintained that there were plans to cover the remaining 26,331 rural households by March 2025. He pointed out that 643 villages (62.25%) out of 1033 were certified as Har Ghar Jal, with certification for the rest in progress.
He highlighted that Kiphire, a Mission Utkarsh district, achieved 100% household coverage with tap water connections for all 14,991 households.
The minister said that out of its 110 Har Ghar Jal villages, 100 were certified, and efforts were underway to declare Kiphire a fully certified district.
Zhimomi informed that JJM was implemented in convergence with the rural development department under the 15th Finance Commission tied grant award and all funds were received and utilized by RD department.
Out of 1548 villages, he pointed out that RD department was responsible for providing water supply to 116 villages, with plans to cover schools, Anganwadi centres, and other public institutions.
The minister said that most villages in the state were situated on hilltops, far from water sources, making it difficult to implement pipe water supply schemes.
He said challenging terrain, along with the depletion of water sources due to both natural and man-made factors, posed significant concerns for sustaining water sources and infrastructure under JJM.
He said that Aadhaar registration coverage in the state was only 62.31% as of February 2025, which could affect the timely reporting of FHTC coverage, requiring further attention.
Stressing the importance of monitoring and testing drinking water quality, the minister said that to ensure this, 11 district laboratories and one state laboratory in Dimapur were set up, all NABL accredited.
Further, Zhimomi said that Third Party Implementing Agencies (TPIAs) were empanelled in all districts, with payments released only after verification and certification by TPIAs to ensure quality of work.
He said that the state was declared ODF in 2019, and with the launch of SBMG 2.0, the state has worked continuously to maintain this achievement and progress to ODF Plus.
Currently, 922 out of 1425 villages (64.70%) have achieved ODF Plus, supported by the Fifteenth Finance Commission Tied Grants through the RD department, he added.
He also highlighted that the state has moved to Direct Bank Transfer (DBT) to incentivize new households to build individual toilets. The minister said that Community Sanitary Complexes (CSCs) were being built in key areas such as tourist spots, market areas, and public institutions to prevent open defecation, fulfilling the criteria for ODF Plus.
He disclosed that the state aimed to Saturate Solid Waste Management in 549 villages, Grey Water Management in 518 villages, Plastic Waste Management in 16 blocks, and Faecal Sludge Management in six blocks by 2025-26.
The minister pointed out that the projected cost for Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) was Rs.5566.27lakh for SBMG, Rs.3581.866lakh for FFC Tied Grants, and Rs.5111.40lakh for MGNREGS. AIP for 2025-2026 was presented to and vetted by the department of drinking water and sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS).
In this regard, the minister emphasized the need for regular functionality assessments, involving Self Help Groups and NGOs for sustainability, and raising awareness on user charges for services.
In his speech as guest of honour, RD & SIRD minister, Metsubo Jamir, highlighted several critical issues affecting rural areas of the state.
He said that inadequate infrastructure, limited resources, and a lack of technical know-how, had hindered development, slowing progress toward achieving comprehensive growth, especially in rural areas.
Jamir said that those challenges had contributed to the region lagging behind more developed states. Citing PFMS regime as an example, he explained that while DPT was mandatory for wage or subsidy payments. He pointed out that 21 out of 76 blocks in Nagaland remained unbanked, and some districts only have a single bank.
The minister also pointed out that Kiphiri, the state’s only aspirational district, had only two banks: SBI and Nagaland State Co-Op Bank, both located in the district headquarters.
He acknowledged that the most viable focus for progress was the development of rural areas.
Jamir emphasized that this approach would not only bring rural populations on a par with the rest of the country but also create meaningful employment for educated, unemployed youth, helping youth deter them from joining insurgent groups and discourage mass migration from rural to urban areas.
RD minister informed that Nagaland was exempted from the 73rd Constitutional Amendment due to the presence of traditional local self-government bodies like the Village Councils and VDBs. He expressed belief that this recognition of local needs justified a distinct approach for the state and the North Eastern Region, separate from the national pattern.
However, Jamir expressed concern over rigid guidelines under various CSS programmes, which hindered progress. He, therefore, emphasized the need for more realistic guidelines based on regional realities. He appealed to the Government of India and NITI Aayog to consider adopting a different set of guidelines for the Northeast.
The minister asserted that no single policy or model could be applied uniformly across the country to address the diverse needs, particularly in rural development, where nearly 75% of the population, representing the majority depended on it for their well-being.
Further, the minister asserted that national poverty alleviation programmes should be adaptable to local needs and regional conditions. He said that the current guidelines did not align with the geo-physical and socio-economic realities of hilly regions.
Jmair stressed that states should have the flexibility to design their own planning and implementation methods. He pointed out that the state had expressed concern about its inability to follow most guidelines due to its unique grassroots organization (VDB), which differed from the Panchayati Raj Institutions the guidelines were based on.
RD minister said that programmes like Nagaland NRLM had a significant impact on self-employment and entrepreneurial activities. Therefore, Jamir said that states like Nagaland, with difficult access to market, required the need for food preservation technology, infrastructure support, and training. He said that the issue was not only relevant to Nagaland but also to other North-eastern and hill states.
He stated that the Finance Commission Grants provided much-needed relief to financially constrained states like Nagaland, with its open-ended untied component allowing for the prioritization of grassroots needs.
For hilly states like Nagaland, he suggested merging tied and untied fund components, which would help in more effectively utilizing the Finance Commission Funds.
The workshop aims to explore the intersection between water quality, sanitation, waste management, and public health, creating a comprehensive roadmap for improving health outcomes in the region.
It bought together stakeholders from diverse sectors, including health experts, policymakers, community leaders, and civil society organizations, to discuss innovative, sustainable community-driven solutions to improve public health and well-being across the NER.
Earlier the inauguration session was chaired by Tiamongla Kichu and Gaurav Kumar Mishra, welcome remarks by commissioner & secretary Thaveseelan K, and a short speech by NITI Aayog programme director, Yugal Joshi on “Accelerating public health (WASH) outcome: A regional call for action in aspirational districts and blocks” and vote of thanks by NITI Aayog’s Anand Shekhar.
Later, after the inaugural session, there were two technical sessions. After each technical session, a Q&A session was held, followed by concluding remarks from the session moderator.
The “Way Forward: Recommendations for Strengthening WASH and Public Health Integration” was then taken up by programme director at NITI Aayog, Yugal Joshi.
Kohima water supply affected due to source depletion: PHED
DIMAPUR, MAR 26 (NPN): Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) has informed the general public at Kohima town that the water supply has been significantly affected due to source depletion.
In a press release, PHED Kohima urban division executive engineer Neilhoukholie Chielie stated that the absence of rainfall, combined with the onset of dry weather, was expected to further reduce water supply in the coming days.
The department has, therefore, sought cooperation of consumers in particular and the public in general and assured that it remained committed to working towards mitigating the situation in the greater interest of all stakeholders.