ITANAGAR, 31 Mar: The state government has taken it upon itself to achieve the target of providing safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections across the state by 31 March, 2023 – a year ahead of the national target of 2024 – under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).
The JJM is one of the most ambitious programmes of the central government, envisioned to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India.
The state government, represented by Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, assured this during a meeting of the Apex Committee State Water & Sanitation Mission under the JJM at the civil secretariat here on Thursday.
The chief secretary thanked the jal shakti ministry, represented by JJM-I Director Manoj Kumar Sahoo through videoconference, for its continued support to the government of Arunachal in implementing the JJM in the state, which he said “has resulted in the achievement of 38.07 percent as compared to the national average of 21.07 percent (Har ghar jal village), and FHTC coverage of 64.54 percent as compared to the national average of 48.40 percent.”
“Approximately, 53,000 households are left to be connected under the FHTC,” he said.
The CS informed Sahoo that the Arunachal government is committed to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 31 March, 2023.
Going by the pace of the current coverage under the JJM, Kumar suggested that the PHE&WS department set 31 December, 2022 as the new target for achieving 100 percent coverage under the JJM in Arunachal – three months prior to its own set target of 31 March, 2023.
He also reviewed the physical plan and achievement during 2021-22 under the JJM, and said “there is a dire need of a serious action plan with regard to drinking water supply connections at schools and anganwadi centres.”
The total number of schools to be connected with water supply is 697, and 2,277 anganwadi centres are yet to be connected with drinking water supply.
The chief secretary directed the PHE&WS and the PRI departments to “explore the possibility of adopting similar projects like that of the Egam Basar Nature Project on source rejuvenation in the districts.”
He also asked the PHE&WS and the education departments to “work out on a plan where students of Classes 5, 6 and 7 shall be taken to their nearest water treatment plants as part of an exposure tour to learn about the water supply system.”
In order to maintain the quality of water, the chief secretary informed the JJM-I director that “the PHE&WS department will obtain National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories accreditation for the state laboratory and 10 district laboratories within this year.”
Planning Commissioner PS Lokhande, WCD & Education Commissioner P Singla, PHE&WS Secretary Rinchin Tashi, RD&PR Secretary A Talwade, Chief Engineer (WZ) Toko Jyoti, State JJM Mission Director T Basar and others were present at the meeting. (CS’ PR Cell)
