Jal Jeevan Mission can\'t be successful without community participation: Shekhawat

New Delhi: Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Monday extolled Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his ambitious Jal Jeevan Mission and requested the states to come forward to achieve the access to piped potable water to every rural household by 2024.

Addressing state minister's conference on Jal Jeevan Mission in Delhi, Shekhawat exuded confidence and said that the target would be achieved if all the stakeholders walk together.

"People have many expectations from this government. They have faith in them. If the states and Centre walk together, 100 per cent target can be achieved. This is an issue which needs community participation. It could not have been successful without community participation," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had, on August 15, announced from the ramparts of Red Fort that his government will spend Rs 3.5 lakh crore on its ambitious Jal Jeevan Mission.

Shekhawat said five years ago, on the same occasion, when the Prime Minister made an announcement on sanitation drive and vowed to make India open defecation free by October 2, 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, people of the country had doubts whether it could be achieved.

"Having delivered on that promise, the Prime Minister has now announced the challenging Jal Jeevan Mission. With people's participation and state's cooperation, we will again deliver," Shekhawat added.

"Today, I am feeling relaxed to see the states' enthusiasm. Let us all walk together. We are going to achieve this challenging target under the leadership of PM Modi," he said.

The minister said the government was not only committed to ensuring that every household has access to tap water under the mission but also to secure the underground water.

He said the household wastewater, mainly from the kitchen and bathing, amounts to about 75 per cent of the amount of water supplied.

"We need to have provisions for the effective channelling and treatment of household wastewater through appropriate and low-cost drainage and treatment systems. Once appropriately treated, the greywater can be used for both recharge of groundwater as well as for irrigation purposes," he said.