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| National Jal Jeevan Mission the team visits Manipur, Photo Credit: Epao.Net |
NEW DELHI (Lampe):- A team of 6 members
from the National Jal Jeevan Mission is on a visit to Manipur from 10th to 13th
January 2021. The team intends to provide technical assistance thereby
supporting the State realize the goal of ‘Har Ghar Jal’ under the flagship
program, Jal Jeevan Mission. The team aims to identify the issues and
challenges faced by the program implementors in the State as well as document
the good practices for upscaling and replication in other parts of the country.
The team will be
visiting Kakching, Thoubal, Bishnupur, & Noney districts during the
four-day long tour. They will be interacting with the field level officials
involved in the implementation of water supply schemes as well as Gram Pradhans
and members of Gram Panchayats who are the custodians of the infrastructure
thus created under the program. The team will also be holding meetings with
the Chairperson of District Water & Sanitation Mission/ Deputy Commissioner
to brief them about the progress and seek their intervention for speedy
implementation of the program. On the last day of the visit, a de-brief of the session is also planned by the team.
Manipur State has
around 4.51 lakh rural households, out of which tap water supply is available
to 1.67 lakh (37%) households. The State aims to provide 2 lakh Functional
Household Tap Connections in 2020-21. The State has planned for 100% tap water
connection coverage by 2021-22 under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).
Jal Jeevan Mission is
a flagship program announced by Prime Minister in August 2019, which aims to
provide all rural households with tap water supply inadequate quantity &
of prescribed quality by 2024. Union Government is committed to providing all
assistance to the State as the provision of potable water is a top priority. Under
the program, funds are provided by the Government of India based on the outputs
in terms of tap water connections provided and the utilization of available
central and matching State share. Centre has allocated Rs 131.80 Crore to
Manipur in 2020-21.
There is a need for
convergence planning to be done by the State under various programs like
MGNREGS, JJM, SBM (G), 15th Finance Commission Grants to PRIs, CAMPA,
Local Area Development Fund, etc. at village level and Village Action Plan
(VAP) of every village is to be prepared for 5 years co-terminus with the 15th
Finance Commission by dovetailing all such funds for carrying out various
activities to ensure drinking water security.
Manipur though falls under high intensity of rainfall area also
faces an acute shortage of water particularly during dry/ lean season of
February - May every year. Manipur has primarily an agrarian economy, with
significant hydroelectric power generation potential. The mismanagement of
water has severely depleted the water supply and degraded water quality in Manipur.
Scarcity, overexploitation, and pollution are the key areas of concern regarding
water management. With proper recharge structures and watershed management,
infiltration rate can be increased which will help in better groundwater
recharging.
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