Goa and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu (D&NH and D&D) becomes the first ‘Har Ghar Jal’ certified state and UT in the country respectively where people from all villages have declared their village as ‘Har Ghar Jal’ through a resolution approved by the Gram Sabha, which confirms that all households in the villages have access to safe drinking water from taps, ensuring that “no one is left behind”. All rural households of Goa and 85,156 Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu have access to drinking water through piped connections.
Jal Jeevan Mission is a flagship program of the Government of India which was announced from the Red Fort by the visionary Prime Minister on 15th August 2019. The objective of the mission is to ensure supply of tap water in adequate quantity, of prescribed quality and on a regular and long-term basis to every rural household in the country by 2024. The program is being implemented by the Government of India in collaboration with States/UTs.
Despite the various disruptions and challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the consistent efforts of Panchayat representatives, Pani Samitis, District and State/UT Goa officials and D&NH and D&D that led to this success. All schools, anganwadi centers, public institutions including Gram Panchayat buildings, health centres, community centres, ashramshalas and other government offices now have access to drinking water through piped connections.
The certification process is detailed in the Margdarshika of Jal Jeevan Mission under which first the field engineer presents the completion certificate regarding the water supply scheme to the Panchayat during the Gram Sabha meeting. Villages confirm through a Gram Sabha resolution that every household has a regular supply of water of the prescribed quality and no household is left out. They also confirm that all schools, anganwadi centers and other public institutions are also getting tap water.
Village Water and Sanitation Committee (VWSC) or paani samiti has been constituted in all 378 villages of Goa and 96 villages of D&NH and D&D. The VWSC is responsible for the operation, maintenance and repair of the water supply infrastructure developed under the ‘Har Ghar Jal’ programme. This sub-committee of the Gram Panchayat also has the responsibility of collecting user fees which will be deposited in a bank account and used to pay the fee of the pump operator and carry out minor repairs from time to time.
Water quality is an important aspect of the mission and to ensure the same, at least five women in each village are trained to conduct water testing. Today, more than 10 million women in the country have been trained to use Test Kits (FTKs) to test the quality of water supplied to rural households. These women tested more than 57 lakh water samples using Field Testing Kits (FTKs) In line with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas aur Sabka Prayas”, more than 52% of rural households in the country are now connected to piped water, which was only 17% when this transformation was launched mission on August 15, 2019.
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