New Delhi: To monitor the rural drinking water supply systems in the villages, the Ministry of Jal Shakti has decided to take the digital route by using sensor-based Internet of Things (IoT) devices to effectively monitor the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in more than six lakh villages across the country.
The Ministry of Jal Shakti said in a statement that Jal Jeevan Mission in collaboration with Tata Community Initiatives Trust (TCIT) and Tata Trusts has recently completed pilot projects in several remote villages of five States — Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Himachal Pradesh.
“A key feature of these pilots has been the use of frugal yet sturdy sensors, which makes the solution scalable and sustainable. One of the key challenges posed to the team was to develop a robust solution at a fraction of the water infrastructure costs without compromising on quality or functionality,” the ministry said.
The ministry pointed out that majority of the vendors, including manufacturers, are Indian players, thereby giving a boost to the government’s ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ programme. The pilots went live in September 2020 despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the ministry, the IoT-based remote monitoring provides near real-time information without any manual intervention by using sensors.
“This would not only allow effective monitoring and management on-ground with a futuristic vision to ensure regular tap water to every home, but real-time measurement and monitoring is also critical for rural drinking water supply schemes, with enormous gains in terms of operational efficiencies, cost reduction, grievance redressal,” the statement said.
