Jal Shakti Ministry Holds 11th Sujal Gram Samvad on Rural Water

The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti held the eleventh edition of its multilingual dialogue, Sujal Gram Samvad, on 29 September 2026. The virtual platform puts officials in direct conversation with Gram Panchayat representatives and villagers about the operation and maintenance of rural drinking water systems, which is the central concern of Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0: not laying a pipe but keeping the water flowing through it.

Who led it

The Samvad was chaired by Ashok K. K. Meena, Secretary, DDWS, with Kamal Kishore Soan, Additional Secretary and Mission Director of the National Jal Jeevan Mission, in attendance. The Secretary pressed Gram Panchayats to take fuller ownership of operation and maintenance, to strengthen the collection of user charges for financial sustainability, and to take up source sustainability work such as groundwater recharge and rainwater harvesting. He described the dialogue as a place where innovations from the grassroots travel from one Panchayat to another.

The four villages heard this time

What the villages said

Sakaria reported that before the Mission villagers depended on wells and tube wells, and that the village has since reached Har Ghar Jal status with billing done on digital platforms. Dashinpara said tap water has cut water-borne illness and eased the burden of fetching water, with women active in the Pani Samiti. Bokaro officials described outreach such as Jal Samvad, where officials visit Panchayats, and Hamare Gaon Hamare Log, held every Saturday. Partapur in Ladakh reported year-round water at home where villagers once melted snow in winter.

Money, manuals and the Gram Sabha

Panchayats were asked to use the e-Gram Swaraj portal to plan and track spending and to make effective use of 16th Finance Commission tied grants for drinking water infrastructure and source protection. The Mission Director asked States to prepare simplified operation and maintenance manuals in local languages so that Panchayat members and Village Water and Sanitation Committee members understand their duties. He also urged Panchayats to use the 2 October Gram Sabha to push water conservation and sanitation, and to hold Jal Arpan programmes once Har Ghar Jal certification is complete.