NEW DELHI, AUG 11 (PTI): More than two lakh villages and over one lakh gram panchayats across the country have achieved Har Ghar Jal certification, the Jal Shakti Ministry said on Tuesday, stressing that the achievement should now translate into sustained, community-led management of rural water-supply systems.
The ministry’s Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) organised the 11th edition of the District Collectors’ Peyjal Samvad through video-conferencing to deliberate on the fast implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) 2.0 and share best practices adopted by districts.
The meeting was chaired by DDWS Secretary Ashok K K Meena and attended by Kamal Kishore Soan, Additional Secretary and Mission Director, National Jal Jeevan Mission, besides senior officials of the department and state water and sanitation missions.
Meena emphasised the pivotal role of the district water and sanitation missions (DWSMs) as the primary institutional mechanism for implementing rural drinking water programmes and urged districts to hold regular monthly meetings and upload their proceedings on the JJM Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) portal.
He also called upon districts to leverage the Decision Support System for a scientific assessment of source sustainability.
Meena urged districts to expedite Jal Arpan ceremonies for completed schemes after the prescribed commissioning process and mandatory trial run, enabling a formal handover of assets to gram panchayats.
The progress and best practices of four districts — Uttara Kannada in Karnataka, Khowai in Tripura, Didwana-Kuchaman in Rajasthan and Chatra in Jharkhand — were presented by their respective district collectors and district magistrates to facilitate cross-learning and strengthen implementation under JJM 2.0.
Uttara Kannada officials showcased the district’s approach to sustainable rural water supply service delivery in its geographically-challenging coastal, forest and hilly terrains.
In Khowai, all 860 anganwadi centres have rainwater-harvesting structures through convergence with other programmes.
Didwana-Kuchaman highlighted efforts to address the long-standing challenge of fluoride- and salinity-affected groundwater, which has historically resulted in cases of dental and skeletal fluorosis.
Chatra presented a convergence-led model for strengthening rural drinking water service delivery. Convergence with the MGNREGA and other funding sources has supported the construction of more than 5,300 soak pits and rainwater-harvesting structures, besides rejuvenation of ponds and reservoirs to strengthen groundwater recharge and long-term water security.
Soan urged district collectors to leverage data-driven decision-making, ensure effective functioning of the district technical units (DTUs) and promote capacity building through convergence with rural self-employment training institutes (RSETIs), state rural livelihood missions (SRLMs) and skill development programmes.