The Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will be chairing a Regional Conference with Ministers from 6 States and UT of Andaman & Nicobar Islands to review the progress made under Jal Jeevan Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen. The conference will be held at Kolkata on 9th March, 2022. The meeting will be attended in person by Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, State Ministers along with senior officers from rural water supply and sanitation department

Union Minister Jal Shakti, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat while talking about the conference said, “Women are given a pivotal role under the ‘Har Ghar Jal’ as they are the primary stakeholders and are involved in the programme from the very beginning. They are part of planning, monitoring and also receive training to undertake water quality testing from time-to-time. It is a move to empower the women and reduce their drudgery. The present government ensures ‘ease of living’ especially for people living in rural areas so that the urban-rural divide is bridged.”

Union Jal Shakti Minister will be discussing in detail with States of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Odisha, West Bengal and UT of A&N Islands on issues and challenges they are facing in implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen.

 ‘Har Ghar Jal’ is a flagship programme of Government of India, being implemented by Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) under Ministry of Jal Shakti. The visionary Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has set the target for providing tap water connection in every rural household of the country by 2024. Among the participating States and UT, A&N Islands has provided 100% coverage to all its rural households in 2021. Bihar aims to become ‘Har Ghar Jal’ in 2022, followed by Chhattisgarh and Mizoram in 2023 and finally Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal in 2024.

SBM(G)) is a flagship programme of the Central Government which was launched in 2014. The districts declared themselves Open Defecation Free (ODF) on 2nd October 2019. Currently, SBM(G) Phase-II is being implemented by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti with focus on sustaining ODF status and ensuring Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM), so that the villages move from ODF to ODF Plus. 

Smt. Vini Mahajan, Secretary, DDWS, Ministry of Jal Shakti will be setting the agenda for the conference. She will be impressing upon the States/UT to expedite the implementation especially in priority area viz. water quality affected areas, SC/ ST habitation, Aspirational and JE/AES affected districts in the participating States. Sustainability of water sources, infrastructure developed under JJM and Individual Household Latrines (IHHL) constructed under SBM(G), will also be discussed. 

Shri Arun Baroka, AS & MD (JJM & SBM(G)) will be making a detailed presentation on the progress made, challenges encountered and way forward. He will be focusing on the pace of programme implementation so that the targets set by the States in their Annual Action Plan is met in a timely manner.”

The regional conference will see discussions on ODF Sustainability, apart from strengthening modalities for convergence and stepping up implementation of ODF plus elements of SBM(G) Phase-II. Subject matter experts and senior government officials will be holding technical sessions on role of rural local bodies in ensuring water and sanitation activities in convergence with 15th Finance Commission funds. A specific session is dedicated on grey water management in the conference. There will be a special session on setting up Grievance Redressal mechanism in every States/ UT so that issues emanating in the field are addressed effectively.