Scripting a social revolution through water

Rattan Lal Kataria
Union Minister of State, Jal Shakti, Social Justice & Employment

Igrew up in a small village in Haryana. Being from a poor Dalit family, poverty and exclusion were the only flavour of life. The daily schedule of my parents hinged on securing two square meals for their family. My father worked as a shoe-

maker, while my mother toiled hard as a wage labourer. I remember her ordeal, walking tirelessly up to the designated well, each day, just to fetch drinking water. Her resolve to secure drinking water for her children gave her the grit to brave all physical and social hardships she faced in the process.

As a child, I distinctly remember my eagerness to listen to the Republic Day and Independence Day speeches. They offered the only ray of hope amidst the gloomy darkness of poverty. Each year, I would await an announcement on providing drinking water to our houses as it directly affected my mother and my family. Much to my amazement and disgust, the brittle promises were often made and then broken.

Later in life, I was fortunate enough to witness piped water connections in my village, but this time, the caste-class matrix dictated the esteemed beneficiaries. The poor and marginalised were again devoid of their basic right to clean drinking water. Years passed and by 2019, we as a nation, could provide piped water supply to a mere 3.23 crore rural households out of a total of 18.93 crore.

It was after 72 years of Independence, in 2019, that from the precincts of the Red Fort, our Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his resolve to provide piped water connections to every rural household under the government’s flagship programme — Jal Jeevan Mission. Present at the Red Fort at that historic moment, my past flashed in front of my eyes. I remembered the words of Atal Bihari Vajpayeeji. In 1990, while on a visit to my village to perform the kanyadaan of my sister, he termed piped water supply as a conduit to secure dignity of life for each household. That moment, I considered myself fortunate to serve in the newly formed Jal Shakti Ministry and work towards fulfillment of his vision. It was a god-sent opportunity and the entire team, led under the dynamic leadership of our Prime Minister, is working tirelessly to accomplish the monumental task.

As we march towards Republic Day celebrations, instead of making tall promises, I seek to put forth our report card in public domain. In a short span of just one year, 3.04 crore households have been provided piped water connections as against the coverage of 3.23 crore households since independence. Goa has emerged as the first state to achieve 100% coverage under JJM and as on date, 51 districts, 652 blocks, 37,956 gram panchayats and 70,848 villages have achieved the target of Har Ghar Jal. The drudgery of women and girls has reduced and there has been an improvement in their “ease of living”.

But there is something more significant that is happening as an implication of this mission.

A water connection is being provided to one and all irrespective of caste, community, religion and race etc with an approach that “no one is left behind”. Villages with a majority of SC/ST population are also considered as priority areas under the scheme which aims to secure 55 litres per capita per day (LPCD) of water. This secular and inclusive approach is primarily benefiting the people from backward castes and is proving to be a silent revolution.

The mission mandates provisioning of water supply infrastructure on an unprecedented scale. It requires skilled manpower like plumbers, masons, electricians, fitters, pump operators etc., which shall be met by skilling people from the respective villages, thereby opening up vistas for their employment. So far, skill missions have tried to address the supply side constraints by imparting skill trainings. This mission shall address both the supply as well as demand side constraints by generating the demand for requisite skills in all the villages.

The entire mission follows a bottom-up approach. It requires formation of village water supply committees/paani samitis that shall prepare a village action plan for themselves. Interestingly, these committees must have 50% women members since they are known to have a first-hand experience of problems faced on account of fetching water from a distance for day to day use. They are also known to be more efficient in the delivery of smooth operation of any scheme. Women and water are the very source of life. The mission seeks to leverage their innate potential and channelise it into a tool for their empowerment.

Lastly, information technology has been leveraged to collate and display nationwide data on a portal, www.ejalshakti.gov.in, for ensuring real-time monitoring, transparency and public probity. A Rashtriya Jal Jeevan Kosh (RJJK) has been set up for accepting donations/contributions from people who have moved from villages, but still nurture a love for their native place. Soon, they will be able to donate, at the click of the mouse, for specific water supply related works by interacting with the members of the paani samiti through this portal.

Hence, Jal Jeevan Mission is not merely a scheme. Its multi-dimensional impact on our society shall be positively etched in Indian history. Its outcome is not limited to the aggregate of connections provided. It is the resolve of Atmanirbhar Bharat to address the long-standing need of providing potable water to every rural household by ushering in a social revolution marked by people’s participation, empowerment, convergence, inclusion and equity.