The Union Cabinet under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the strategic restructuring of the Jal Jeevan Mission moving from an infrastructure development approach towards a service-based approach. This new approach termed ‘JJM 2.0’ aims at establishing a sustainable rural piped drinking water ecosystem with robust drinking water governance. For these structural reforms, the total outlay has been substantially increased from ₹2.08 lakh crores to ₹3.59 lakh crores making it ₹8.69 lakh crores in total.
The ‘Sujalam Bharat’ digital framework is an integral part of this transformation and will provide every village in the country with a ‘Sujal Gaon/Service Area’ ID, thus digitally mapping the entire supply chain from source to every individual’s faucet. For transparency, Gram Panchayats and Village Water and Sanitation Committees will be involved in the commissioning and formal handover of schemes under ‘Jal Arpan.’ Moreover, no Gram Panchayat can claim itself ‘Har Ghar Jal’ unless it confirms that the State Government has established operation and maintenance mechanisms.
For the sustainability of the program, the concept of “Jal Utsav” has been proposed and it is a community led annual maintenance and evaluation program that incorporates the community ethos. The success of the mission is considerable and it has expanded from 3.23 crore (17%) rural households in 2019 to 15.80 crore (81.61%) households currently. WHO and Nobel laureate Michael Kremer impact studies indicate considerable health benefits as there are chances of preventing 400,000 deaths from diarrheal diseases and a 30% reduction in under five mortality rates.
In addition to health benefits, the mission has enabled 9 crore women to avoid the drudgery of water collection according to SBI Research. The ILO study indicates the creation of nearly 2.8 crore person years of employment. Under JJM 2.0, the objective is to supply drinking water through the piped system to all 19.36 crore rural households identified by the ministry by December 2028. The “Whole of the Government” approach is in alignment with the Viksit Bharat @ 2047 vision. It is a shift to a 24×7 utility-based service delivery system with the citizen being the focal point.
