The Union Territory of Ladakh that launched a month-long campaign--'Pani Maah' (water month) with an aim to increase the pace of implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in the UT and to inform and engage village communities on the importance of clean water.
'Pani Maah' is being run at the Block and Panchayat level in two phases. The first phase is being run from August 1-14 and the second phase will run from August 16-30, 2021, informed the official release by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
The campaign will adopt a three-pronged approach- focussing on water quality testing, planning and strategizing water supply, and seamless functioning of Pani Sabha in villages.
Launching the campaign on July 25, 2021, during a four-day workshop on the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Ladakh, Lieutenant Governor RK Mathur had emphasized the objective of the 'Pani Maah.
He had said that an efficient service delivery brings transparency and ensures good governance. Through this month-long campaign, village communities will be encouraged to send water samples to water quality laboratories for quality checks and monitoring.
In the first phase of 'Pani Maah', the focus will be on Swachhta Sarvekshan and Sanitation drives by Village Water and Sanitation Committee (VWSC)/ Pani Samiti members. During this phase, water samples will be collected from all identified sources and service delivery points for testing. The first phase will also include awareness and sensitisation campaigns.
Phase two of 'Pani Maah' will focus on organizing the Pani Sabhas/ Gram Sabhas/ Block level meetings and door-to-door visits for effective communication on water quality and service delivery under JJM. During this phase, Jal Jeevan Mission implementation, water quality test reports and analysis will be discussed with the villagers in an open forum. A village/ block-wise schedule has also been prepared for water sample collection and the Gram Sabhas to ensure maximum participation of villagers in the campaign.
The Union Territory of Ladakh has also announced an award of Rs 5 lakh per village for the first 5 'Har Ghar Jal' villages of each district in UT and Rs 25 lakh to the first 'Har Ghar Jal' block in each district. Outstanding Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) members, BDOs, AEEs and other concerned stakeholders will be honoured on Republic Day 2022 for their contribution towards making villages, blocks, and districts, 'Har Ghar Jal'.
On 15 August, 2019, at the time of launch of Jal Jeevan Mission, out of 18.98 Crore rural households in country, only 3.23 Crore (17 per cent) had tap water connections. Despite Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown disruptions, Jal Jeevan Mission provided 4.65 Crore tap water connections in last 23 months. As a result on Thursday, 7.89 Crore (41.27 per cent) households have tap water supply. Goa, Telangana, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, and Puducherry have achieved 100 per cent household connection in rural areas and has become 'Har Ghar Jal'.
( With inputs from ANI )
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