Digitally-Enabled Water Supply Infrastructure Under Jal Jeevan Mission

( 30 August, 2020, Ministry of Jal Shakti, www.pib.gov.in )

The Ministry of Jal Shakti has decided to create a smart rural water supply eco-system to measure and monitor the service delivery of the water supply in rural areas under the Jal Jeevan Mission.

Aim: Measurement and Monitoring

To facilitate states and Gram Panchayats or its sub-committee, Paani Samiti, an automated system for measurement and monitoring of water service delivery is necessary. This necessitates the use of modern technology for measurement and monitoring of the water service delivery and to capture and transmit service delivery data automatically for ensuring the quality of service.

Initiatives towards this Goal

National Jal Jeevan Mission has constituted a Technical Expert Committee to prepare a road map for measurement and monitoring of water service delivery system in rural areas.
The National Jal Jeevan Mission and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology planning to conduct an ICT Grand Challenge to bring an innovative, modular, and cost-effective solution to develop a 'Smart Water Supply Measurement and Monitoring System' to be deployed at the village level.
The mission, in partnership with State Governments and sector partners, has started facilitating a sensor-based water supply system on a pilot basis in various villages. Gujarat has begun navigating the sensor-based rural water supply systems in 1,000 villages spread across five districts. The other States have also started pilot projects.

Brief on Jal Jeevan Mission

Jal Jeevan Mission being implemented in partnership with states aims at providing functional household tap connection to every rural household of the country by the year 2024.
The programme focuses on service delivery at the household level, the supply of 55 litres per capita per day (lpcd) of water of prescribed quality on a regular and long-term basis. The mission focuses on 'service delivery', rather only on infrastructure creation.

Constitutional Provisions

In accordance with the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution, Gram Panchayats at the village level is to manage drinking water supply. Thus, Gram Panchayat or its sub-committee, Village Water and Sanitation Committee/ Paani Samiti are required to function as a 'local public utility' for drinking water management, water service delivery, greywater treatment, and reuse, and take care of operation and maintenance of in-village water supply infrastructure for assured drinking water supply on regular basis, collect user charges for delivery of water supply services.

Benefits

Digitally-enabled water supply infrastructure will help in near real-time monitoring and evidence-based policymaking.
Digitisation of water supply infrastructure has the potential to help the Gram Panchayats as 'local public utility'.