SHILLONG: If all goes well, the rural houses across Meghalaya will be augmented with piped water connection by the end of 2022.
The state government has set December 2022 as its target to complete the household tap connections to all rural areas of the state under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).
Informing this in a consultative meeting with the deputy commissioners of all districts, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said that focus should be on the need to decentralise works on a mission mode and ensure that the targets are achieved in the record period as set by the government.
Also present during the meeting was PHE Minister Samlin Malgniang.
While stating that the implementation of the scheme is a massive exercise and involves complete attention by the stakeholders for its successful completion, Conrad said, “The Centre has given us assurance that funding for the implementation of the scheme will not be an issue, however, we have need to ensure accountability and execution of the works as mandated by the programme”.
On completion, the scheme will cover 5,89,888 households in 6,415 villages.
This year alone, the scheme will cover 2,04,036 spread across 11 districts, while the target for 2021-22 is 2,61,226 and for the year 2022 – 23 is 1,18,347.
With Ri Bhoi being the ‘aspirational district’, the government has set the target of covering 55,735 households within this financial year, which will ensure 100 per cent coverage for the district.
The chief minister has directed all the DCs to ensure submission of data from the village level on a real time basis so that it is reflected on the “CM dashboard” for effective monitoring of the scheme implementation.
Further, the state government has decided to implement the scheme in convergence with MGNREGS with a focus on a participatory approach from the community for its effective monitoring and phase-wise completion.
The chief minister also reviewed the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (PMAY – G) and has directed DCs to complete the set target of 47,136 houses by the end of this financial year.
The JJM is a project funded by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India, which envisages providing safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all rural households in the country.
The programme will also implement source sustainability measures as mandatory elements such as recharge and reuse through grey water management, water conservation, rain water harvesting et al.
The JJM is based on a community approach to water and will include extensive Information, education and communication as a key component.
It looks to create a jan andolan for water, thereby making it everyone’s priority.