100 Teams to Inspect Jal Jeevan Mission

New Delhi: Secretaries, joint secretaries and directors in various central government departments will be part of 100 teams deputed for the ground inspection of Centre’s Jal Jeevan Mission schemes across the country.

The mission aims to ensure the supply of drinking water in adequate quantities of prescribed quality on a regular and long-term basis at affordable service delivery charges to every rural household in the country.

The decision to depute the teams came following a meeting chaired by Cabinet Secretary T. V. Somanathan to review the implementation of schemes under the Ministry of Jal Shakti on May 8.

"During the meeting, it was decided to depute 100 teams for ground inspection of Jal Jeevan Mission schemes," said an order issued by the Personnel Ministry. The Personnel Ministry has appointed Central Nodal Officers (CNOs) for identified districts to assess the implementation of the schemes under the mission, according to the order issued on Monday. Secretaries, joint secretaries and directors in various central government departments have been deputed for the inspection.

According to the order, 27 such schemes to be assessed are in Madhya Pradesh, which is the highest in the country, followed by 21 in Rajasthan, 18 in Uttar Pradesh, and 16 in Karnataka. The central teams would also be visiting Odisha, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Punjab, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Chhattisgarh and Goa, among other states.

Jal Jeevan Mission, envisions to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India. The programme will also implement source sustainability measures as mandatory elements, such as recharge and reuse through grey water management, water conservation, rain water harvesting.