STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has expressed dissatisfaction over the progress of implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in Assam. The Union Minister also expressed displeasure over the fact that technical operators, such as plumbers, fitters, pump operators etc., were being brought from other states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh for implementation of JJM in Assam.
The Union Minister attended the day-long conference of PHED ministers from eight north-eastern states on Jal Jeevan Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission at the Assam Administrative Staff College in Guwahati today.
"Why is Assam so dependent on technical operators from other states? The Central Government has allotted funds for technical training, so why can't local people be given the necessary training? In Assam, there are 25,000 villages. Even if four local people are engaged in the implementation of JJM in each village, it will open livelihood opportunities for 1 lakh families," said Union Minister Shekhawat.
He also said that Assam was lagging behind other states in formation of Village Water and Sanitation Committee (VWSC). So far only 50 per cent of VWSCs have been formed, he said. He pulled up the Assam Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) for not taking this issue 'seriously'. Under JJM, priority is accorded to quality-affected villages. "Assam is lagging behind in quality-affected villages also," said the Union Minister. "In Japanese Encephalitis (JE)/Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) affected districts, out of 22.43 lakh households, only 6.45 lakh households (29 per cent) have been provided water with Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTCs)," he said.
The progress of providing tap water supply in schools and Anganwadi centres (AWCs) is also not satisfactory, said the minister as only 37 per cent of AWCs and 65 per cent of schools have been provided water supply under JJM. The minister instructed the Assam PHED to prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the villages which are yet to be covered under JJM.
The conference was attended by Assam PHED Minister Ranjeet Kumar Dass, PHED Minister of Meghalaya Renikton Lyngdoh and PHED Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Wangki Lowang, along with senior officials of the rural water supply and sanitation department of all the north-eastern States.
"The Union Government is committed towards the development of the Northeast and its impact is visible in the lives of the people of the region," said Union Minister Shekhawat while addressing the conference. He said that the Central Government had allotted Rs 9,800 crore for the north-eastern states for the year 2021-22 under JJM.
"A clear roadmap must be built so that states/Union Territories can achieve the target within the stipulated timeframe. Priority should be given to the north-eastern border states, hilly region and aspirational districts," he added. He emphasized maintaining quantity, quality and sustainability while implementing JJM in the north-eastern region. He further informed that Manipur, Meghalaya and Sikkim aimed to achieve Har Ghar Jal in 2022. The deadline set by Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Tripura and Nagaland is 2023 while Assam aims to meet the goal in 2024.
"Under Jal Jeevan Mission, the idea is not just to install a tap in every rural household but to ensure the service delivery and long term sustainability and it is the duty of the authorities to continuously monitor and ensure it," said Shekhawat.
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