JAL JEEVAN MISSION

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In News

The Vice-President of India has launched Jal Jeevan Survekshan (JJS) Toolkit 2023.
- On this occasion, he described “quality, quantity and continuity” as the core principles of the Jal Jeevan Mission for ensuring a strong and credible accountability mechanism in the implementation of this people-centric program.
The toolkit has been developed by the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti to help the States/ UTs understand the assessment criteria.

Jal Jeevan Mission

The Mission was launched on August 15, 2019.
Implemented by the Ministry of Jal Shakti
To provide safe and adequate drinking water through household tap connections by 2024 to all rural households and public institutions; Gram Panchayat building, Primary Schools, Anganwadi centre, Health and wellness centres, etc.

Features

The Mission ensures community participation and also includes an Awareness, Education and Communication Campaign.
Development of water supply infrastructure to provide tap water connection to every rural household.
Development of drinking water sources to ensure the long-term sustainability of the water supply system.
Other features; Providing training, establishing water quality laboratories, Strict water quality testing and surveillance, Promoting Research work, starting a knowledge centre, a programme for capacity building of communities, etc.

Significance of the Mission

Jal Jeevan Mission has brought socio-economic benefits to the rural population.
Regular tap water supply relieves people, especially women and young girls, from carrying heavy bucket loads of water to meet their daily household needs.
The saved time can be used for income generation activities, learning new skills and supporting children’s education.

Concern

India has adequate fresh water. The problem is inefficient and wasteful use.
Law and policy measures to address it remain insufficient. The primary source of domestic water and irrigation is groundwater but the media and policymakers still and often focus on surface water.
The reason for the excessive use of groundwater is the legal framework governing access to the resource; landowners see groundwater as their own and as a resource, they can exploit without considering the need to protect
The present framework remains mostly top-down and is incapable of addressing local situations adequately.
Water usage for major crops in India is two to four times that in other large farming nations due to wasteful flood irrigation, mostly in northern India.
The present subsidy structure “encourages using more inputs such as fertilizer, water and power. Most states provide electricity either for free or at a flat rate. This leads to wasteful water extraction.
About 80 Crore Indians face water Scarcity and about 2 lakh people die every year due to inadequate access to Safe water.
The population of India will be more than 1.5 billion people by 2030. Achieving food Security for this rising Population becomes more difficult with water Scarcity.
No Indian City Supplied 24x7 water to its entire urban Population, and only 35% of urban households in India had piped water.
Water Shortages Can hamper industrial operations
Biodiversity is impacted by human activities undertaken to Create additional water Sources. These activities include dam Construction and river diversion which Can lead to Changes in water flow, Salinity levels, and monsoon Patterns.

Steps by the Government for water management

The government of India launched Jal Shakti Abhiyan with a mission mode approach intended to improve water availability including groundwater conditions in the water-stressed blocks in India.
National Water Policy (2012) has been formulated by the Department of Water Resources for the conservation of rivers, river bodies and infrastructure in a scientifically planned manner through community participation.
Central Ground Water Authority has been constituted under the “Environment (Protection) Act, 1986” for regulation and control of groundwater development and management in the Country.
Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Groundwater 2020 has been prepared in consultation with States/UTs.
Construction of watershed management structure under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana promotes water conservation and management, water harvesting, soil and moisture conservation, groundwater recharge, flood protection, and land development.
Atal Bhujal Yojana for sustainable management of groundwater with community participation is being taken up in the identified over-exploited and water-stressed areas in the States of Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Way Forward

Need to adopt innovative approaches to Sustainable Operation and Maintenance. Involve community members at all Stages, and ensure effective Communication among all stakeholders.
Government and administration should work with local communities to revive traditional water bodies, and design and construct cost-effective groundwater recharge structures; such as check dams, ponds, farm ponds, tanks, recharge wells, etc.
The Water Management program focuses on recharging underground aquifers and promoting rainwater harvesting. This improves the availability and quality of groundwater in the long run and provides water security to all.
India has one of the largest watershed management programs in the world. This programme will enhance this progress by adopting and applying scientific technologies, decision-support tools, and knowledge exchanges.