New Delhi, Oct 30 (IANS) Nearly 800 district collectors and officials from across the country discussed measures to improve tap water availability, community participation and decentralised water management under National Jal Jeevan Mission (NJJM), an official said on Thursday.

The discussions were held under the “District Collectors’ Peyjal Samvad” initiative, which is a national dialogue aimed at empowering district leadership to strengthen local governance, ensure source sustainability, and enhance accountability in rural water service delivery under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), the official said in a statement.

Additional Secretary and Mission Director, National Jal Jeevan Mission (NJJM), Kamal Kishore Soan, chaired the meeting, highlighting that sustainable service delivery depends on data-backed decision-making, local ownership, and preventive governance, stating that “District Collectors are the key functionaries and their role is very important under JJM.”

Soan also stressed the need for dedicated expenditure on water-related works under MGNREGA for recharge, water harvesting, and source protection.

The Mission Director also emphasised the need to establish Protected Drinking Water Zones, enforce patrolling and inspection protocols, and empower Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSCs) for community vigilance and reporting.

The “District Collectors’ Peyjal Samvad” series is part of the Department’s ongoing effort to strengthen local governance and decentralised water management under JJM.

The first edition, organised on October 14, focused on empowering districts and panchayats through digital tools, accountability mechanisms, and peer learning.

The second edition, held on Thursday, advanced this dialogue towards source sustainability, highlighting data-driven planning, legal safeguards, and convergence with MGNREGA to build a district-led, community-anchored model of rural water governance, said the statement.

During the discussion on Thursday, NJJM Director Y.K. Singh said that the next phase of JJM must focus on source sustainability.

He underlined that while the Mission has brought tap water to 81.21 per cent of rural households, nearly 85 per cent of rural drinking-water demand continues to depend on groundwater (CGWB, 2024).

Drawing attention to the 3rd Chief Secretaries’ Conference, held in December 2023 on the theme ‘Drinking Water’, he recalled the national commitments made to secure water sources and emphasised that sustainable sources are the foundation of sustainable tap connections, and that India’s water story must be scientific, data-driven, and community-led.

–IANS

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