The government of India initiated Jal Jeevan Mission to assist, empower and facilitate rural communities across the nation with drinking water supply in “adequate quantity of prescribed quality” on a regular and long-term basis at affordable charges.

The goal of this mission is to provide 55 litres of water per person per day to every rural household through Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) by 2024.

Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) intends to create a Jan Andolan for water to make it everyone’s priority. The mission follows a community approach that includes extensive Information, Education and Communication as its key component.

To date, there have been numerous success stories of the JJM from the remotest parts of India.

“Har Ghar Jal” in Gujarat

The government has ensured 100% provision of tap water supply in the rural households of six districts in Gujarat, namely, Anand, Botad, Gandhinagar, Mehasana, Porbandar and Vadodara.

In fact, around 90% of rural households in 17 districts of the state (namely Morbi, Jamnagar, Patan, Bharuch, Dang, Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Kachchh, Rajkot, Ahmedabad, Navsari, Amreli, Banas Kantha, Bhavnagar, Surat, Surender Nagar and Kheda) now have access to the piped drinking water supply.

The villages of Bhavnagar district are receiving the benefits of JJM wherein the Gujarat-based Coastal Salinity Prevention Cell (CSPC) is leading the programme with IEC activities, community mobilization, and training programmes for Pani Samitis and Gram Panchayat members.

The CSPC has a long experience of working with rural communities of Gujarat in drinking water supply and access issues, rainwater harvesting and water resource management.

The state has witnessed impeccable scaling of rural piped drinking water supply because of – Direct communication with village women; Effective communication with District administration and local Media; Recognition of Pani Samitis; and further training in FHTC saturated villages.

Moreover, Gujarat plans to achieve 100% saturation by October 2022.

Ghare Ghare Bisudha Paani in Assam

The JJM success story of Assam can be surmised in one sentence, “build a woman, and you build a nation.” The women of the Darrang district in Assam have set an example with their active participation in the success of the Jal Jeevan Mission in the state. Darrang for long has faced the scarcity of clean drinking water in the rural areas, being plagued with issues such as Arsenic contamination.

With the motto of Ghare Ghare Bisudha Paani (clean tap water in every home), Dhulikona Foundation, under the framework of Implementation Support Agencies (ISAs) has supported the execution of JJM at the grassroots level in Assam.

Jal Jeevan Mission appeals to the women of rural areas due to many reasons; from ensuring safe and clean drinking water for their families to helping them save time used in search of water – the mission has assumed a personal space in the lives of women in rural communities.

Dhulikona Foundation plays an active role in organising community and cluster meetings in different wards that are led by respective female ward members. JJM in Assam has provided a significant as well as powerful platform for active women’s participation that ensures Women Emancipation with the ‘Har Ghar Jal’ vision.

JJM – Ray of Hope for the people of Madhuramba

The Madhuramba village in Gajapati district, Odisha has faced a water crisis for decades that intends to become acute in summers. The relief came for the people of this village after the launch of the Jal Jeevan Mission in August 2019.

The implementation of Mission was undertaken by Gram Vikas, a civil society organization, which approached the community with possible solutions to resolve the issue of the water crisis.

The village was informed about the Har Ghar Jal programme in a participatory meeting, wherein the request for three tap connections was recognised, i.e;

1. In the kitchen for drinking and cooking meals
2. In the bathroom for bathing and washing clothes
3. And the third one for usage in Toilets

Moreover, in order to ensure that the feasibility of tap water does not result in wastage of water by the population, the administration installed water meters in each household. In addition to this, a user fee was charged based on water consumption.

For now, the village is working towards building “Jal Prabudh Gaon” with a grey-water management plan. Under the plan, the villagers have created a system wherein water flowing out of the kitchen and bathing area is re-directed towards the kitchen garden. This in turn helps recharge the groundwater level, the initiative hence transforms and takes the Jal Jeevan Mission to next level.