Jal Shakti minister pats state’s JJM progress

SHILLONG, Nov 3: Meghalaya on Thursday held its head high after Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat patted the state for the progress of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) implementation and called it a torch-bearer for other states.
Shekhawat, who is in the state capital to review various central schemes under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, recalled that tap water coverage was less than one per cent in Meghalaya when JJM was in its early stage.
The national tap water coverage under the scheme is 36 per cent but Meghalaya has registered 41 per cent coverage, he added.
At present, out of around 6.2 lakh targeted households, around 2.6 lakh households have been provided with tap water connection, while work is under way for around 2.8 lakh households.
Lauding the government for initiating the holistic water policy, Shekhawat said around Rs 700 crore would be spent in Meghalaya under the watershed management under which around 2,500 ponds would be constructed.
Asked about complaints regarding the scheme implementation, he said although the ministry flags the issues before the states whenever they surface, there have been no such complaints from Meghalaya.
The union minister also spoke about the recent incentives received by Meghalaya as he highlighted the considerable progress of the state in the implementation of the flagship central programme and the water conservation efforts.
It may be noted that the state had bagged the second prize under functionality assessment of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). The award was received by PHE Minister Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar from President Droupadi Murmu at a function at the Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi last month.
During the review, the state government assured the union minister that the state’s JJM team would leave no stone unturned so that Meghalaya becomes one of the states to receive the third incentive as the state further pursues its mission for 100 per cent functional household tap connection.