“Today 10 crore rural households of the country have been connected to piped clean water facility. This is a big success of the government’s campaign to deliver water to every household. This is a great example of ‘Sabka Prayas’". Jal Jeevan Abhiyan is not just a government scheme, but it is a scheme run by the community, for the community. People’s power, women power, and power of technology are powering the Jal Jeevan Mission," said Prime Minister Modi.
Modi congratulated Goa for becoming the first Har Ghar Jal certified state where every household is connected to piped water. He also acknowledged Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu as first union territory to achieve the feat.
The Prime Minister lauded the people, government and local self-government institutions for their efforts.
“One lakh villages in different states of the country have turned ODF plus. After the country was declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) a few years ago, the next resolution was to achieve ODF plus status for villages i.e., they should have community toilets, plastic waste management, grey water management and Gobardhan projects," said Modi.
Underlining the water security challenge that the world is facing, the Prime Minister said, “Water scarcity can become a huge obstacle in accomplishing the resolution of developed India-Viksit Bharat. Our government has been working relentlessly for the last 8 years for the projects of water security.
Talking about the multi-pronged approach of the government to ensure water security, the Prime Minister listed initiatives like ‘Catch the Rain’, Atal Bhujal Scheme, 75 Amrit Sarovars in every district, river-linking and Jal Jeevan Mission.
He said that the number of Ramsar wetland Sites in India has gone up to 75, out of which 50 were added in the last 8 years.
Prime Minister lauded the feat of connecting 7 crore rural households with piped water in just 3 years whereas in 7 decades since Independence only 3 crore households had this facility.
“There were about 16 crore rural households in the country, who had to depend on outside sources for water. We could not have left such a large population of the village fighting for this basic need. That’s why 3 years ago I had announced from the Red Fort that every house would get piped water. 3 lakh 60 thousand crore rupees are being spent on this campaign. Despite the interruptions caused by the biggest epidemic of 100 years, the pace of this campaign did not slow down. The result of this continuous effort is that in just 3 years, the country has done more than double the work done in 7 decades. This is an example of the same human-centred development, which I talked about this time from the Red Fort," said Modi.
The Prime Minister highlighted the benefit of Har Ghar Jal for the future generation and women. “The main sufferer of the problems related to water, women are at the centre of the government’s efforts. It is improving the ease of living for women and giving them a key role in water governance. Jal Jeevan Abhiyan is not just a government scheme, but it is a scheme run by the community, for the community."
The Prime Minister said that four pillars are at the basis of the success of Jal Jeevan Mission i.e. people’s participation, stakeholder participation, political will and optimum utilisation of Resources. Local people and Gram Sabhas and other institutions of local governance have been given an unprecedented role in the campaign.
