Leaderspeak | Local Self-Government & JJM
JJM will strengthen roots of local self-governance Jal Jeevan Mission is not just ensuring the piped supply of clean water to every household but also strengthening local self-governance, and empowering women in rural India. The decentralisation component in this Mission is setting a new trend in implementing government programs
Ranjit S Chavan | President, AIILSG
ccess to clean water is essential for the prosperity of a community. Historically, communities and settlements thrived mainly near water bodies. However, since independence, Indian rural households did not have adequate access to water. The present data suggests that India has over 18 per cent of global population but just 4 per cent of renewable water sources. It is a challenge for the country to provide clean water to all. The problem is more aggravating in rural areas where ground water is scarce and surface water is not available. Understanding the problems faced by rural populations in accessing clean water, the Government of India launched Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in 2019. Then a majority of rural households did not have water tap connections. Out of about 19 crore rural households in the country, only 3.2 cr had water connections. Other
22 February 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in
families had to get water from a source outside their homes, and majorly, the responsibility to fetch water was on women. There are many cases in which girls stopped going to schools because they were engaged in fetching water at their homes. Women complained that fetching water for family needs did not allow them to engage in any economic activity. Now, the number of households with functional water tap connections has gone up to 9 crore. This is indeed an outstanding achievement for the government. The reasons for the Mission’s success could be many. But the engagement of rural women in Village Water & Sanitation Committees (VWSCs)/Paani Samitis would be certainly at the top.
Decentralisation of water management
The philosophical premise of the JJM mission is to empower local
