Context: Making substantial progress towards the government's ambitious Jal Jeevan Mission, approximately 72 per cent of rural households now have access to tap water connections, according to official data.

About:

• Launched in 2019, the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) aims to provide 55 litres of water per person per day to every rural household through Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) by 2024.
• The mission, falling under the Jal Shakti Ministry, seeks to create a mass movement for water, making it a collective priority.
• Objectives of the mission include ensuring the functionality of existing water supply systems, monitoring and testing water quality, promoting sustainable agriculture, and implementing measures for conjunctive use of conserved water.
• Additionally, JJM focuses on SOURCE sustainability through infrastructure development such as rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge, and household wastewater management for reuse.

Key features

• Integrated demand and supply-side water management at the local level, emphasizing community-based approaches. The mission includes Information, Education, and Communication as a crucial component.
• Implementation involves Paani Samitis, comprising 10-15 members, including at least 50% women and others from various groups. These committees plan, implement, manage, operate, and maintain village water supply systems. Village action plans are developed, incorporating available Resources, and approved in Gram Sabhas before execution.
• The funding pattern involves a sharing ratio of 90:10 between the Centre and states for Himalayan and North-Eastern States, 50:50 for other states, and 100% for Union Territories.

Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban)

The Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban) was introduced in the Budget 2021-22 under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Its primary aim is to ensure universal water supply coverage for households in all statutory towns, aligning with Sustainable Development Goal-6.

Complementary Initiative:

This urban mission complements the Jal Jeevan Mission (Rural), which targets the supply of 55 liters of water per person per day to every rural household through Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) by 2024.

Objectives:

Key objectives:

Tap and Sewer Connections:Facilitate the provision of secure tap and sewer connections in urban areas.

Water Body Rejuvenation:

Undertake initiatives for the rejuvenation of water bodies within urban landscapes.

Circular Water Economy:

Establish a circular water economy that promotes sustainable and efficient use of water Resources in urban settings. By focusing on these objectives, the mission strives to enhance water supply infrastructure, promote conservation, and address the water-related needs of urban households, contributing to the broader national goal of ensuring water access and sustainability.

Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G)

• It was launched in 2014 by the Ministry of Jal Shakti to intensify efforts toward achieving universal sanitation coverage, focusing on rural sanitation. As a nationwide campaign, it aimed to eradicate open defecation in rural areas.
• In the first phase, starting in 2014, the rural sanitation coverage was 38.7%. Since then, over 10 crore individual toilets have been built, leading to the declaration of rural areas in all states as Open Defecation Free (ODF) by October 2, 2019.
• SBM-G Phase-II, implemented from 2020-21 to 2024-25, emphasizes sustaining achievements from Phase-I and addressing Solid/Liquid & Plastic Waste Management (SLWM) in rural India. It has a total outlay of Rs. 1,40,881 crores. The SLWM component focuses on four key areas: Plastic waste management, Biodegradable solid waste management (including animal waste management), Greywater (Household Wastewater) management, and Fecal sludge management.