Growing population, expanding urbanization, and fast industrialization as well as the demand to increase agricultural production for food security creates conflicting water requirements. In view of its importance, clean water and sanitation constitute the Goal 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). India has planned to achieve SDG 6 by 2024 through Jal Jeevan Mission.
Jal Jeevan Mission was announced on 15th August 2019 by Prime Minister of India. The mission’s goal is to provide all households in rural India with safe and adequate water through individual household tap connections by 2024.
Our visionary Prime Minister Shree Narendra Modi took the great initiative to achieve the SDG 6 by 2024 under the Jal Jeevan Mission program which is focus on integrated demand-side and supply-side management of water at the local level, including creation of local infrastructure for source sustainability like rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge and management of household wastewater for reuse undertaken in convergence with other Government programmes/ schemes.
The Central Government assistance to States for rural water supply began in 1972 with the launch of Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme. It was renamed as National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) in 2009, which is a centrally sponsored scheme with fund sharing between the Centre and the States. Government of India has restructured and subsumed the ongoing National Rural Drinking Water Programme(NRDWP) into Jal Jeevan Mission. It was proposed to achieve the goal by 2030, coinciding with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. But now, it has been planned to achieve by 2024 through Jal Jeevan Mission.
Jal Jeevan Mission is based on a community approach to water. There are various institutional mechanisms working under this mission, i.e. national level, state level, district level and gram panchayat level (paani samaiti/ village water and sanitation committee). Information, education and communication are the key components of the mission.