The Centre has asked states and Union Territories to expedite efforts to achieve saturation of drinking water coverage in eligible tribal villages and habitations under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN) and Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DA-JGUA),
NEW DELHI — The Centre has asked states and Union Territories to expedite efforts to achieve saturation of drinking water coverage in eligible tribal villages and habitations under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN) and Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DA-JGUA), according to the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) held its second follow-up review and convergence meeting on Wednesday to assess progress on the commitments made by states and UTs to ensure drinking water coverage in all eligible PM-JANMAN and DA-JGUA villages.
The meeting was chaired by DDWS Secretary Ashok K K Meena and attended by senior officials of the National Jal Jeevan Mission (NJJM), Ministry of Tribal Affairs, state rural water supply and public health engineering departments, tribal welfare departments and other stakeholders.
A dedicated provision of INR 5,000 crore under JJM 2.0 has been earmarked to address drinking water gaps in PM-JANMAN and DA-JGUA villages, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
The review focused on harmonising data between tribal welfare departments and Jal Jeevan Mission databases, identifying uncovered villages and habitations, preparing technically sound proposals and jointly validating and certifying coverage.
Meena stressed that regular reviews of PM-JANMAN and DA-JGUA villages should be conducted through District Water and Sanitation Mission (DWSM) meetings chaired by deputy commissioners or district magistrates.
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has undertaken a state-wise SurveySetu exercise, including household-level verification of functional household tap connection status.
States have been advised to present the SurveySetu findings jointly before the DWSM through representatives of water supply departments, tribal welfare departments and the survey agency.
The Centre has also asked states to identify left-out habitations based on SurveySetu findings and jointly prepare proposals supported by duly authenticated DPR checklists.
NJJM's technical division stressed the need for realistic population projections, adherence to prescribed service levels, adequate provisions for source sustainability and water security, and reasonable per-Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) costs backed by technical justification.
Kamal Kishore Soan, Additional Secretary and Managing Director, NJJM, said joint ownership at the state level was also reiterated during the meeting.
State rural water supply and PHE and tribal welfare departments will jointly prepare and present proposals before a joint committee co-chaired by the secretaries of DDWS and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, he said.
At the district level, the DWSM chaired by the deputy commissioner or district magistrate will serve as the key platform for validation and decision-making, with participation of the survey agency and concerned departments, Soan said.
During the meeting, state-wise progress and observations on proposals already received were reviewed. Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Kerala and Manipur were advised to address observations relating to LGD code validation, DPR documentation, service levels and per-FHTC costs, while Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Assam were asked to act on observations already communicated by DDWS.
Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh indicated that they will submit proposals covering identified PM-JANMAN and DA-JGUA villages during October.
The states and UTs will establish a common validated database by harmonising PM-JANMAN, DA-JGUA, SurveySetu and JJM-IMIS records, the ministry said.
The exercise aims to ensure that every eligible tribal village and habitation gets reliable and sustainable drinking water services through data harmonisation, district-level validation, joint planning, timely submission of proposals and certification of saturation.