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

The correct answer is the eleventh edition. The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, which works under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, organised the eleventh Sujal Gram Samvad as a virtual multilingual dialogue with Gram Panchayat representatives and village communities on operating and maintaining rural drinking water systems. Options A, B and D are wrong because the edition announced was the eleventh, not the ninth, tenth or twelfth; the dialogue is a running series and each edition takes up a fresh set of villages. This edition featured grassroots interactions across four Gram Panchayat headquartered villages, in Ujjain district of Madhya Pradesh, Alipurduar in West Bengal, Bokaro in Jharkhand and Nubra in Ladakh, and it was chaired by the Secretary of the Department, Ashok K. K. Meena, with the Mission Director of the National Jal Jeevan Mission also taking part.

The correct answer is the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, known as DDWS, which functions under the Ministry of Jal Shakti and runs the Jal Jeevan Mission. The Samvad is its platform for speaking directly to Gram Panchayat representatives, Village Water and Sanitation Committee members and villagers about keeping rural water supply schemes working. Option A is wrong because rural development handles a different set of programmes and was not the organiser here. Option C is wrong because that department deals with river development and water resources rather than household drinking water service delivery, although it also sits under the Ministry of Jal Shakti. Option D is wrong because Panchayati Raj institutions were the participants in this dialogue, not its organiser; the Secretary of DDWS chaired the session and stressed that Panchayats must own operation and maintenance, collect user charges and protect their water sources.

The correct answer is Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. Representatives of Gram Panchayat Sakaria said that villagers once depended on wells and tube wells, that every household now has a piped connection and Har Ghar Jal status has been achieved, that Jal Arpan was organised on 16 March 2026, and that drinking water service is supported by a user charge of Rs 150 a month with billing and payment through digital platforms, backed by weekly water quality testing. Option A is wrong because Bokaro in Jharkhand is where Gorabali South Gram Panchayat described the women-led Jal Sahiya model. Option B is wrong because Alipurduar in West Bengal is the district of Dashinpara Gram Panchayat, whose representatives spoke in Nepali. Option D is wrong because Partapur in Nubra, Ladakh, reported year-round supply even when temperatures fall to nearly minus 30 degrees Celsius.