Jal Shakti | Puducherry plans to provide tap connections to all rural households in 2020-21

PIB News Update: Annual Action Plan of Puducherry for Financial Year 2020-21 was approved by National Jal Jeevan Mission, Govt of India. The Union Territory plans to provide household tap connections to remaining households in 2020-21. For this work, village level planning involving local community is in full swing despite CoVid-19. Gram Sabhas are conducted in villages maintaining social distancing. Local community will play a pivotal role in planning, implementation, management, operation and maintenance of water supply systems in villages to ensure long-term sustainability. Local communities are encouraged to take responsibility of water supply systems in villages for regular upkeep and operation & maintenance. Not only emphasis is given on revamping of traditional water bodies, but due care also is given on grey water treatment and re-use.

Under Jal Jeevan Mission, water quality testing laboratories at different levels are being established. Community is being involved for surveillance of water quality. Provision has been made to empower and engage with the community, for which action plan ia prepared to incorporate various planned activities like procurement of kits, supply of kits to the community, identification of at least five women in every village, training women for use of Field Test Kits, so that water supplied at village level could be tested in situ.

The UT has been advised to focus on 24*7 service delivery in rural areas, so that the villages can act as ‘utilities’ with focus on ‘service delivery’. It’s also planned to conduct Internet of Things (IoT) based sensor monitoring for water supply in villages.

With summers in full swing, monsoons approaching, and country grappling with COVID-19 pandemic, it has become more imperative to provide livelihood to the migrant workers who have returned to their native villages by providing jobs related to water supply especially water conservation works in every village that will ensure sufficient ground water availability leading to water security, water availability for agriculture and most importantly will help in provision of drinking water to every rural household.

Through ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’, Government of India is making all efforts to provide every rural household in the country a Functional Household Tap Connection for water in adequate quantity of prescribed quality on regular and long-term basis. Objective of this flagship programme is to bring improvement in the lives of rural people by providing potable water at their doorstep and ensure ‘ease of living’.

As announced by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in his last Independence Day speech, Jal Jeevan Mission envisages providing household tap connections in the rural areas of the country by 2024. Universal coverage of all rural households for safe access to potable drinking water is being ensured under this ambitious Mission. A budget of Rs 3.60 lakh Crore has been allocated for this programme. Special attention is being paid to provide potable water on priority in water stressed and water quality-affected areas, aspirational districts, SC/ ST habitations, Sansad Adarsh Gramin Yojna villages, etc.