(a) whether the Government has released funds to all the States/ UTs in the country including North-Eastern States under ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’;
(b) if so, the details of the funds sanctioned/ released and utilized during each of the last three years and the current year so far, State/ UT-wise; and
(c) the steps taken to achieve the goal of ‘Har Ghar Jal’ Yojana?
MINISTER FOR JAL SHAKTI
(SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)
(a) to (c) A Statement of reply is laid on the Table of the House.
Statement referred to in the reply to Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 48 due for reply on 22.07.2021
(a) & (b) Since August, 2019, Government of India in partnership with States, is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) – Har Ghar Jal, to enable every rural household in the country to have tap water connection by 2024. The estimated outlay of the mission is Rs. 3.60 lakh Crore. State/ UT-wise details, of fund released and reported utilization, including those of North Eastern States, under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in 2019-20, 2020-21 & 2021-22 as on 19.07.2021, are annexed.
(c) To plan, implement and monitor the Jal Jeevan Mission across the country, a number of steps have been taken, inter alia, which includes:
i.) To sensitize and discuss Jal Jeevan Mission, a conference of minister in-charge of rural drinking water supply of various States/ UTs was held in New Delhi on 26th August, 2019;
ii.) To discuss and firm up modalities for the implementation of JJM, 5 region-wise stakeholder consultation workshops with States/ UTs, sector partners, community building organizations, experts, etc. were held and thereafter ‘Operational Guidelines for the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission’ was finalized. The guidelines released on 25.12.2019;
iii.) To help Gram Panchayats, Village Water & Sanitation Committees (VWSCs) or Pani Samitis to plan and manage water supply schemes to provide tap water to every home, a Margdarshika for Gram Panchayats and Pani Samitis for implementation of JJM, has been prepared, which was released on 29.09.2020;
iv.) Annual planning exercise is held every year to firm up the plans of States/ UTs to implement Jal Jeevan Mission in respective States/ UTs;
v.) States/ UTs are impressed upon regularly to make provision of tap water supply on priority in water-quality affected habitations, desert and drought-prone areas, SC/ ST majority villages, Aspirational districts, Sansad Adarsh Gramin Yojana villages, etc.;
vi.) Regular review meeting is held with States/ UTs to review the progress and implementation of the mission;
vii.) To ensure community participation, sub-committee of Gram Panchayat or user group i.e. Village Water & Sanitation Committee (VWSC)/ Pani Samiti, etc. having at least 50% women members are encouraged to be formed. They are being empowered to plan, manage, operate and maintain in-village water supply system for drinking water supply on long-term basis;
viii.) States are encouraged to prepare 5–years Village Action Plan (VAP) co-terminus with 15th Finance Commission period for each village, comprising of components viz. strengthening of drinking water source (s), water supply works to provide tap water connection to households, grey water treatment & its reuse, and operation & maintenance for assured potable water supply on long-term basis to every household;
ix.) For long-term water security, provisions have been made for taking up augmentation and strengthening of local drinking water sources in convergence with other schemes at village level;
x.) On 2nd October, 2020, a nation-wide campaign was launched to make provision of tap water supply in schools, anganwadi centres and ashramshalas for drinking & cooking, handwashing and piped water supply in toilets;
xi.) Further, following major mechanisms have been put in place for effective monitoring of works being undertaken in JJM:
a) For targeted delivery and monitoring of specific outcomes, every household tap water connection provided is being linked with the Aadhar number of the head of the household, subject to statutory provisions;
b) Every asset created under JJM is to be geo-tagged;
c) A dashboard is developed for monitoring physical progress at National, State, District and Village level, which is in public domain;
d) A robust JJM–IMIS has been put in place for planning, implementation and monitoring of the mission;
e) Third party inspection (TPI) by the States in place to check the quality of works;
f) Functionality assessment of schemes and tap water connections carried out every year;
g) Measurement and monitoring of water supply in villages through sensor-based IoT solution; and
h) Capacity building and training activities for public health engineers and village level functionaries have been planned through various reputed institutions;
xii.) To bring transparency and effective monitoring, a ‘JJM dashboard’ has been created, which provides State/ UT, district and village-wise progress as well as status of provision of tap water supply to rural homes. The dashboard can be accessed at
https://ejalshakti.gov.in/jjmreport/JJMIndia.aspx
xiii.) Regular joint review meetings with the Chief Ministers of States and Lt. Governors of UTs are held by the Union Minister, Jal Shakti;
xiv.) Despite Covid-19 pandemic, to monitor the progress and expedite the planning and implementation on ground, extensive field visits to various States/ UTs are undertaken;
xv.) A one-day national conference with stakeholders, viz. Public Health Engineering (PHE)/ Rural Water Supply (RWS) Department, sector partners, UNICEF, WHO, NGOs, etc. was organized on 07.02.2020 to impress on States/ UTs to prioritize quality-affected areas under JJM and expedite making provision of tap water supply to every household. During the conference, discussions on water quality related issues were held along with cross-learning and sharing of best practices;
xvi.) To help States/ UTs with hills and mountains as well as forested areas to develop spring based piped water supply, a conference on the Springshed Water Management was organized on 27th– 28th February, 2020 in Nainital, Uttarakhand to ensure assured drinking water supply through participatory spring-shed management approach;
xvii.) A Technical Committee under the chairmanship of Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to Government of India has been set up to examine and recommend various innovations and water related new technologies, which can be used in providing potable tap water supply to every home;
xviii.) A virtual conference of States/ UTs’ Ministers in-charge of Rural Water Supply/ Public Health Engineering Department was held on 3rd November, 2020 to discuss and review the progress of implementation of the mission in States/ UTs;
xix.) After budget (2021-22) announcement, 2–days virtual conference was held on 16 – 17 February, 2021 with State Government officials, industry and business houses, sector experts, NGOs and other stakeholders to improve the pace of implementation;
xx.) To bring focus on public health, a nation-wide Water Quality Management Information System (WQMIS) has been launched on the lines of CoVid–19 testing and reporting system by using field testing kits as well as water quality testing in laboratories;
xxi.) To develop smart measurement and monitoring water supply through sensor based IoT system, a grand challenge has been launched in partnership with the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY). Meanwhile, sensor based IoT system has been implemented at 11 different locations across the country, on pilot basis and at another 100 locations is underway; and
xxii.) With an objective to bring innovative, modular, and cost-effective solution to develop portable water quality testing devices, an innovation challenge in partnership with the Department of Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT) is underway.
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