JJM is a flagship mission of union government launched by Prime Minister in 2019. It aims to provide safe and adequate drinking water to every rural household in the country via individual tap connection, by 2024.
Objectives:
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- To provide Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTCs) to every rural household. The priority will be in quality affected areas, villages in drought prone and desert areas, Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) villages, etc.
- To provide functional tap connection to Schools, Anganwadi centres, GP buildings, Health centres, wellness centres and community buildings
- To promote and ensure voluntary ownership among local community by way of contribution in cash, kind and/ or labour and voluntary labour (shramdaan) and to bring awareness in water conservation.
- To assist in ensuring sustainability of water supply system, i.e. water source, water supply infrastructure, and funds for regular O&M.
- To empower and develop human resource in the sector such that the demands of construction, plumbing, electrical, water quality management, water treatment, catchment protection, O&M, etc. are taken care of in short and long term.
Features:
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- Shift of focus for water supply from ‘habitations to households’.
- It provides for central role of women and weaker sections in managing water supply.
- The local community is responsible for surveillance of water quality.
- Components:
- Development of in-village piped water supply infrastructure to provide tap water connection to every rural household.
- Development of reliable drinking water sources and/ or augmentation of existing sources to provide long-term sustainability of water supply system.
- Wherever necessary, bulk water transfer, treatment plants and distribution network to cater to every rural household.
- Technological interventions for removal of contaminants where water quality is an issue.
- Retrofitting of completed and ongoing piped water supply schemes.
- Greywater management
- Capacity building of various stakeholders to facilitate implementation.
- The programme will implement source sustainability measures as mandatory elements, such as recharge and reuse through grey water management, water conservation, rainwater harvesting.
- States/Uts can utilize 2% of their annual funds for water quality monitoring and surveillance activities like setting up laboratories, equipment procurement.
Achievements:
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- Out of total 19.46 crore rural households in India, 13.92 crore have been provided with tap water connection.
Significance:
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- Clean water improves health and hygiene- The WHO report highlights the substantial benefits of the ‘Har Ghar Jal’ program in India. It estimates that ensuring safely managed drinking water for all households in the country could avert nearly 400,000 deaths caused by diarrheal diseases and prevent approximately 14 million Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) related to these diseases.
- JJM has massive potential for employment generationat the grassroot level. A study by IIM Bangalore, assessed the employment generation potential of Jal Jeevan Mission at 2.8 crore person-years in construction phase and 11.8 lakh person-years annually for operation & maintenance.
- It frees women and children from burden of fetching water from distant and unsafe sources.
- It reduces the stress on groundwater resources thereby enhancing the ecological balance due to increasing green cover and biodiversity by promoting rainwater harvesting, watershed management, afforestation, etc.
Conclusion:
Jal Jeevan Mission is a transformative mission aiming to provide ‘Har Ghar Jal’. It is not just a matter of comfort and convenience for rural people but also about their dignity and empowerment.
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