TURA: With Jal Jeevan Mission already introduced in the district, West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner, Ram Singh has urged all stakeholders to coordinate with line departments and make use of various initiatives taken up by them for providing household tap connections.
Ram Singh made the suggestion during a Convergence meeting held to discuss the successful implementation of JJM in the district through the cooperation of line departments along with the support of community participation in the block and village levels. The meeting which was held on Tuesday evening was attended by Block Development Officers (BDOs) of the district, officials of line departments including the PHE department.
Speaking during the meeting, Ram Singh informed that Jal Jeevan Mission is envisioned to provide safe and adequate drinking water through Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTCs) to all rural households by 2023 in the State by implementing sustainable water sources such as water conservation measures, recharge and reuse through grey water management, etc. Stating that convergence through community participation is one of the key components of the mission, he said that coordination with the officials of line department and stakeholders is necessary so that they can collaborate and make use of the already existing spring chambers, check dams or water catchment areas constructed by these departments for providing household tap connections. Besides, he said that people also should be sensitized about the importance of water and preservation of water sources so that they learn to protect and rejuvenate the catchment area for the benefit of the present and future generation as well.
Emphasizing on the fragile environment due to large scale destruction of forest cover in the region which is paving way for various plantation crops like arecanut, etc, the Deputy Commissioner informed the people that Arecanut Plantation under MGNREGS has been discouraged in the district in order to encourage Natural Resource Management and allied activities. Meanwhile on sanitation and hygiene, he directed the concerned officials to attend Village Health and Sanitation meetings being held regularly in villages and give awareness to the people with regard to conservation of water sources in their respective areas.