Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 Review at IIM Bangalore Sets Reforms

The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) of the Ministry of Jal Shakti held a regional review meeting of States and Union Territories under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) 2.0 at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. Secretary, DDWS, Ashok K. K. Meena, chaired it, with Kamal Kishore Soan, Additional Secretary and Mission Director of the National Jal Jeevan Mission, present.

The headline figures

The Secretary said the Mission has changed rural access to drinking water, with more than 15.96 crore rural households now holding tap water connections, against only 3.27 crore households when the Mission was launched in August 2019.

What JJM 2.0 changes

The Secretary described the second phase as a shift away from building infrastructure towards sustainable and accountable service delivery. He asked States to spend faster on approved schemes but to make sure the money becomes fully functional systems, with source-to-household connectivity, sound digital records and working monitoring. Single-village and multi-village schemes were to be pushed, especially in quality-affected areas.

Findings placed before the meeting

Drawing on the Jal Seva Adhayan, he said pipeline leakages and breakages remain the leading cause of supply disruption, followed by power cuts and low-voltage problems. The Mission Director added that poor power quality continues to hurt service in several areas, and that cutting power costs would improve operational sustainability. Talks are on with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to examine solarisation of drinking water assets.

Professor Gopal Naik, JJM Professor Chair at IIM Bangalore, presented a study on power cost optimisation in JJM schemes, comparing grid-based and solar-powered configurations and their effect on operating and life-cycle costs. Another presentation used Water Quality Management Information System data and reported better compliance on several drinking water quality parameters since the Mission began.

Reform priorities

States and Union Territories discussed State Implementation Plans, financial reconciliation, Har Ghar Jal certification in PM-JANMAN villages, Jal Arpan, digital governance and water quality management. The Secretary pressed for independent water quality surveillance, for water quality information to reach Gram Panchayats and for Gram Sabhas to review findings. The Mission Director asked States to complete Jal Arpan, the formal handing over of schemes to Gram Panchayats and Village Water and Sanitation Committees, in all Har Ghar Jal villages, to speed up testing in Anganwadi centres and to use the Decision Support System for source sustainability planning.