Jammu and Kashmir has seen tremendous progress in its provision of rural tap water under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). With 81.06% of rural households, over 15.59 lakh out of 19.23 lakh households, in the UT with access to clean tap water, the admin has made considerable advancement towards achieving ‘Har Ghar Jal’.
While this is an important statistic, it is a life-altering paradigm shift for innumerable families, particularly women and children that have experienced the burden of accessing water from far away sources.
Launched in 2019, the current JJM is to ensure that all households have adequate water supply through individual tap connections by the year 2024. Jammu and Kashmir has made expansion on this mission while initially starting from very low statistics a few years ago to over 81% coverage now, all while overcoming rugged geography and logistical issues, which exhibits the success of the JJM implementation process on the ground.
With the assurance and invest from the UT administration, with collaboration with central agents, for last mile connectivity, not even the most remote settlements will be left behind.
Piped water supply is more than just a matter of convenience. It underpins socio-economic development. Households now no longer spend hours gathering water. Children, very often girls, can now attend school and focus on their education, and women can participate in productive economic activities.
An effective piped water supply system decreases waterborne diseases and thus improves health in the community. Furthermore, the community-based planning and implementation process – including involving panchayats and water supply committees – also improves ownership and sustainable impacts.
Still, 20 percent of households are not yet covered. Progress is good, but it should be accelerated, especially in the tough to reach areas in the hilly areas that have been more difficult to implement.
It would be critical to monitor the water quality, maintain a supply of water, and continue to maintain support infrastructure to sustain this water flavour tops. Causing lessening disparities between all districts is also an administration responsibility action.
This is the pudding’s proof of the implementation of policy in Jammu and Kashmir, which is how much it might change lives. This is part of the nation’s dream of the improvement of living standards of rural India towards the SDG goals. Just as it inches towards universal coverage, the Union Territory sets an inspiring precedent for all the provinces.
