It came as a surprise for many when BJP’s Member of Parliament from Jodhpur, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, was given the charge of newly created Jal Shakti Ministry in 2019. It looked like a huge challenge to realise the objectives of the ambitious Jal Jeevan Mission programme of the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But perhaps the task was assigned to the right person, who comes from the water-starved western Rajasthan.

According to the Jal Shakti ministry data, as on December 17, 2021 over 8.67 crore of the total 19 crore rural households have tap water connections. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has been instrumental in the successful implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission which aims to provide clean drinking water to all rural households by 2024. The mission’s objective is also to provide functional tap connections in schools, Anganwadi centres, community buildings, wellness centres, Gram Panchayat buildings and health centres

The government has already set up 2000 water testing laboratories and is targeting 6000 such labs in the coming years, the Jal Shakti Minister announced recently. These laboratories will boost the water-quality testing infrastructure available to every village to improve service in terms of quantity, quality and regularity.

In March this year Gajendra Singh Sekhawat launched the Jal Jeevan Mission- Water Quality Management Information System (WQMIS). The online portal and mobile app on WQMIS has been launched under the Jal Jeevan Mission in partnership with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The system will provide data after testing water samples which will help in ensuring safe drinking water supply. This is for the first time such data will be available in public domain.

The success of Jal Jeevan Mission has also transformed the lives of the women in rural areas. In a recent internal government newsletter, the Jal Shakti Minister, explained how JJM has transformed the lives of the women in rural areas by helping them to emerge as leaders. The women are also showing a large involvement in JJM programme as plumbers, electricians and pump operators among others.

In 2014, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time from Jodhpur constituency and in 2019 he retained the seat. During his first stint as the Member of Parliament, in September 2017, he was appointed as the Union Minister of State for the Ministry of Agriculture. During his first term as an MP he was behind the Jodhpur Airport and expansion of All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

Mission Paani, an initiative of News18 in association with Harpic India, has an objective that ‘every Indian should have access to safe water and sanitation’. The campaign aims to create awareness towards access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene. As the campaign tries to amplify all efforts towards access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has extended his support since its inception. In September 2019, the Minister attended the global launch event of Mission Paani in Stockholm, Sweden.