Jal Jeevan Mission: Flowing in the right direction

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi strode into the 2019 general elections, there were many deliverables he could point out that had improved conditions for the less privileged. These included affordable housing, toilets, electricity connections, cooking gas, financial inclusion and rural roads. Whilst many of these, and more, are still ongoing programmes, the single biggest delivery in the run-up to the 2024 general elections will undoubtedly be “Har Ghar Jal”, or potable tap water for every household, under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).

JJM is strikingly transformational in its aim, in that every rural household is to have a functional tap connection by 2024, which will provide an adequate quantity of water of prescribed quality on a regular and long-term basis. The expected outcomes relate to reduction in drudgery in the life of women, and providing dignity of life to rural communities. This was announced by the prime minister on August 15, 2019, from the ramparts of the Red Fort, and stirred the nation’s conscience on a task that should have been completed many decades ago.

Rural India has 18.93 crore households of whom only 17 per cent had some version of a tap water connection. The remaining 15.70 crore, or 83 per cent of households were therefore the massive numerical target that emerged, a little over five times the size of the electricity connection target. The total mission outlay has been estimated at Rs 3.60 trillion, of which Rs 2.08 trillion is the share of the Central government.

The reported progress to date has been more than satisfactory with an all-India achievement, as on July, 2021, of 41 per cent of the target. It does appear, that by 2024, the overall target is capable of being achieved. This by itself will be commendable — considering the federal structure of our polity, the diversity of the water-source challenge in different geographies, and the sheer granularity of the deliverables.

Two specific dimensions of the JJM deserve special attention. They are its fiercely decentralised approach and firm belief that the quality of service delivery is ultimately the only meaningful outcome.

JJM seeks to embrace the beneficiary population as stakeholders — both in the initial implementation and subsequent maintenance phase. It seeks to galvanise a Jan Andolan (people’s movement) with the total involvement of the village community where the community is even expected to contribute 5 per cent of the expenditure by cash or voluntary labour. It prescribes a “bottoms-up” five-year village action plan through the formation of a village water and sanitation committee or Pani Samiti, under the gram panchayat, which is to play the key role in planning, implementation, operation and maintenance of the in-village water supply system. Capacity building inputs are being provided through 184 identified sector partners comprising of NGOs, foundations, trusts and committed individuals who are knowledgeable and passionate about the sector. 

This will also see the skill-development for an entirely new set of plumbers, masons, pump-mechanics, quality-control specialists across Bharat — opening up a vast job market. India has six lakh-odd villages. At 15 new jobs per village, that is an addition of 90 lakh new jobs in rural India. The long-term aim is to convert these Pani Samitis into local “Water Utilities” to manage both technical and commercial aspects.
 

The other innovative construct of the programme is that it is the ultimate delivery and not the mere establishment of supply infrastructure that will determine its true success or failure.

Service delivery standards have been adopted whereby a household will receive potable water supply of 55 litres per capita per day, of a prescribed quality. Sensor-based control systems will be installed to measure quantity, quality and regularity of water supply through an internet-based real-time format. This will feed into a public-domain dashboard at village-levels. Water quality monitoring will be done by the local community; with a focus on empowering village women to take over this task. The state will support this activity by opening up laboratories to have the water samples tested at a nominal rate. The development of a portable device for water quality testing at the household level is also being pursued. Treatment of discharged “Grey Water” and its re-use is an important component of the plan so as to ensure conservation as well as prevent any public-health hazard.

Within the general approach are specific areas where priority attention is being given. These relate to arsenic and fluoride affected locations, drought-prone and desert areas, SC/ST majority villages and socio-economically backward “aspirational districts.” So that it is not perceived to be another Delhi-driven programme, an array of regular engagements with state and district officials is an integral part of the effort.

Are there any other measures JJM can take? A suggestion is to launch an aggressive outreach programme for corporations, trusts, and foundations in India and abroad, who may wish to participate in this historic drive by adopting a cluster of villages. The evolution of the Pani Samitis into local Water Utilities can be widened to include electricity, public health and education. Finally, the numerous incidences of contamination of groundwater with fluoride, arsenic, iron, salinity, nitrate and heavy metals is posing quite a challenge. A dedicated technical team to address the long-term elimination of these conditions will be a blessing to the affected communities.

JJM promises to go down in history as an iconic development initiative.

The writer is co-founder of Feedback Infra and non-executive chairman