New Delhi, Nov 2: Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), the flagship program of the Central Government aims to provide tap water connections to all rural homes in the country by 2024. The mission aims to improve the lives of people and bring ‘ease of living’. While launching the program on 15 August last year, Hon’ble Prime Minister appealed that the campaign on water conservation should not just remain a government initiative but it should become a ‘people’s movement’. For the successful implementation of the mission to achieve the stated goal of providing 100% potable drinking water in every rural home of the country, various stakeholders have to come together and join hands and put up concerted and sustained efforts to ensure water security for all.
In this endeavor, National Jal Jeevan Mission, Ministry of Jal Shakti had sought expression of interest seeking applications from foundations, trusts, NGOs, UN agencies, R&D institutions, etc. to work as Sector Partners for the ambitious program on a voluntary and no-cost basis. These are the organizations that are proactively working in the water sector with wide outreach and impact.
An interactive video conferencing with more than 50 such organizations was organized by the National Mission, chaired by Additional Secretary & Mission Director, NJJM. Representatives from these organizations interested in partnering with NJJM participated and discussed their role and responsibilities in supporting the implementation of the program.
Through the sector partners, JJM aims to harness the huge potential of the local community by reaching out to the voluntary organizations, NGOs, social service & charity organizations, and professionals working in the drinking water sector who are willing to work towards mobilizing and enhancing the capacity of the communities to achieve the goal of the Mission in a time-bound manner.
Through a Video Conference, National Jal Jeevan Mission impressed upon the possibility of collaboration by assessing the strength of various organizations, their presence in specific States/ regions, and specialization on different themes be it community mobilization, baseline survey, capacity building, skill-based training, participatory rural appraisal, water conservation, monitoring, documentation, advocacy, etc.
The decentralized, demand-driven community-managed implementation of the programme instills ‘sense of ownership’ and pride among the local community, create an environment of trust and brings in transparency leading in better implementation and long-term O&M of water supply systems. JJM envisages that the Gram Panchayats and the sub-committees like the user groups and the Paani Samiti are to plan, build, manage, operate & maintain in-village water supply systems ensuring that the schemes last the full design period.
The Mission plans to holistically address the challenges, like depleting water sources, increasing water-quality issues, lack of in-village infrastructure, poor operation & maintenance, lack of resource efficiency, and competing water demands from various sectors. For the success of the life-changing mission, it is imperative that government and private sector/ corporate houses including voluntary and charity organizations join hands to develop synergy for efficient output. Following the clarion call of the Prime Minister to ‘make water everyone’s business’, the mission strives to build partnerships and work together with various institutions to achieve drinking water security for all.
