Meghalaya receives Jal Jeevan Mission implementation award from President Droupadi Murmu

SHILLONG: It is said that "Water is the essence of Life". The Meghalaya Government's efforts to provide clean and adequate drinking water to its residents was recognized on Sunday at the highest national forum.

On the auspicious occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, the President of India, Droupadi Murmu conferred an award to Meghalaya for being one of the Best Performing States in the implementation of JJM (Jal Jeevan Mission) in the country.

Meghalaya's Minister of Public Health Engineering (PHE) Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar received the recognition on behalf of the State Government in presence of Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister of Jal Shakti.

Meghalaya was ranked 2nd in the category of States/UTs in JMM implementation, a truly commendable feat for this small Northeastern State. In 'Har Ghar Jal' (HGJ) status, Meghalaya was ranked higher than Assam, J&K, Kerala, Manipur, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Goa and other States. Meghalaya achieved HGJ status for 597 villages with close to 1,500 villages achieving 100 per cent tap water coverage.

"Ensuring safe and adequate drinking water has been our Government's foremost priority and also one of the most difficult challenges. At the initiation of the JMM in August 2019, only 4,500 of rural households had tapped-water connectivity, whereas today over 2.53 lakh households have tapped water connection, a whopping 55-fold increase in coverage. Moreover, 100 per cent of households in nearly 1,500 villages now have access to tap water, thereby saving them the drudgery of fetching water from far-off places in our hilly terrains. I dedicate this award to every official and staff member of the PHE Department who worked tirelessly to ensure tap water connectivity even in far flung villages of our State," said Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma.

What makes the Meghalaya Government's achievement in ensuring tap water connectivity in remote rural areas truly commendable is the fact that the implementation team had to confront several odds like topographical challenges, scattered households in remote villages and other factors peculiar to this hilly State. The Government also made significant expenditure of around Rs 1,407 crore in 2022 as compared to just Rs 27 crore in 2019, a 51-fold increase in expenditure to expedite tap water connectivity in the State.

Furthermore, the Williamnagar Urban Water Supply Project Phase-I was also sanctioned recently at an estimated cost of around Rs 122 crore. Other important projects in the pipeline include Greater Shillong Water Supply Project, the Nongstoin Urban Water Supply Project, the Greater Rymbai Water Supply Project, and the Greater Ampati Water Supply project with a combined budget outlay of Rs 593 crore.

"This award is indeed a great ratification of our relentless efforts in ensuring sustainable drinking water supply and improving the quality of lives of our people. But we have a long way to go and need to sustain this high momentum to achieve our vision of making Meghalaya one of the top 10 states in the country across key Human Development Index parameters," concluded Sangma.

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