New Delhi, Jun 26 (JKNS): The Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti, successfully organised the eighth edition of the multilingual ‘Sujal Gram Samvad’ today, reinforcing the government’s commitment to community-led water governance under the Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0.
The Samvad was chaired by Shri Kamal Kishore Soan, Additional Secretary & Mission Director, National Jal Jeevan Mission. Senior officers from the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation were also present during the multilingual Samvad.
The eighth edition of Sujal Gram Samvad featured village‑level interactions across 5 Gram Panchayat headquartered villages. The Samvad recorded more than 3,000 participants attending the virtual interaction, reflecting strong engagement from communities and officials alike. In addition, villagers joined the interactions in large groups at the Gram Panchayat (GP) level including GP representatives, members of Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSCs), community participants, Jal Doots, Anganwadi workers, students, women trained on water quality and frontline functionaries from the GPs, along with JJM State Mission Directors, District Collectors/District Magistrates/Deputy Commissioners, DWSM officials, and senior officers from the States.
In his opening remarks, Shri Kamal Kishore Soan, AS&MD, NJJM highlighted the role of GPs in ensuring the proper and timely delivery of potable piped water to rural households under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). He mentioned that, since 2019, India has prioritised household piped water, and today over 6 lakh villages are being covered under JJM, which is an achievement made possible by active participation of Panchayats, Gram Sabhas, Self-Help Groups (SHGs), and local operators (Nal Jal Mitras).
Shri Kamal Kishore Soan also highlighted that the drinking-water systems being created are intended to serve communities for the next 25–30 years. Panchayats must therefore focus on source sustainability and protection, timely operation and maintenance, prevention of water wastage, and strengthening local capacities for repairs and monitoring. While highlighting the nationwide rollout of the “STOP Diarrhoea Campaign” he stressed the importance of regular water-quality testing to ensure safe drinking water in every household, preventing diarrhoea and other waterborne diseases. With the monsoon underway, he underlined that vigilant monitoring of water sources, prompt treatment of any contamination, and active involvement of trained women and community volunteers are essential to safeguard public health.
While addressing the state officials and GP representatives, he noted the financial and planning provisions under JJM. He informed that the 15th Finance Commission’s grant period concluded in March 2026, and work under the 16th Finance Commission has now commenced. Under this, he urged all the GPs and district officials to prepare Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs), as directed by the Government of India. He highlighted that a primary condition for release of funds under the 16th Finance Commission, is to ensure timely completion of GPDPs by 15th August, 2026.
Voices from the Gram Panchayats
Village-level interactions were held with 5 Gram Panchayat headquartering villages, from 4 states and 1 Union Territory. The Samvad continued its pioneering model of conducting dialogues in regional languages, allowing villagers to share successes and challenges related to JJM and its related initiatives in their mother tongue. This featured communication in languages such as Assamese, Kannada, Haryanvi, Bengali, and Hindi. The Samvad proved to be unique as it brings a communicative engagement in regional tone.
GP-Murrorbori, District-Morigaon, Assam: During the interaction from representatives of GP Murrobori in Assamese, GP members and the SHG workers reported significant benefits from the Jal Jeevan Mission. The SHG workers described the work done by them at the GP level for ensuring safe and quality drinking water in the village to all the families. They described that routine water-quality monitoring using Field Testing Kits (FTKs) is done along with community meetings to review results, and submission of findings to the Sahayak is also carried out on timely basis. During the interaction the village people also highlighted that regular coordination meetings include the Panchayat president, school teacher, VWSC and GPDC members to resolve local issues.
Further, the officials from the District and State stated that efforts are being undertaken to address issues in water supply systems and strengthen O&M activities in coordination with GPs and the PHED. They also emphasised on timely completion of District Improvement Plans and GPDPs to access 16th Finance Commission funds.
GP-Dodda Jala, District-Urban Bengaluru, Karnataka: The village representatives interacted with the official from the office of Minister of Jal Shakti and shared their experiences in Kannada language, highlighting that all households in the Gram Panchayat have been provided Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTCs) under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), ensuring adequate quantity and quality of drinking water. Villagers credited the success of the scheme to active community participation and collective contributions. They informed that a monthly user charge of ₹50 per household is being collected to support operation and maintenance (O&M) of the water supply system. They, however, flagged concerns regarding unauthorised tampering of control valves by some residents, affecting equitable water distribution to households at the tail end of the network.
During discussions the District Water and Sanitation Mission (DWSM) and State Water and Sanitation Mission (SWSM) officials informed that JJM implementation is progressing steadily, with works completed in many villages and remaining projects are on track for completion. They noted the need to address operational issues and ensured that proper actions shall be taken for the benefits of the villagers. They also mentioned that timely meetings are conducted along with Jal Seva Aankalan and proper handing over of Jal Arpan is ensured in the villages.
Shri Kamal Kishore Soan congratulated the State officials of Karnataka, for being one of the leading states for Jal Seva Aankalan and urged the state to continue with the spirit for proper implementation of schemes under JJM 2.0.
GP-Amarpur, District- Palwal, Haryana: During the interaction with the village representatives of GP Amarpur in Haryanvi language, it was informed that regular user charges (₹40 for General and ₹20 for SC/BC households) are being collected and utilised for pipeline maintenance and leakage repairs, ensuring sustainability of the water supply system. They highlighted that with strong community-led water management under JJM 2.0 a monthly collection of ₹7,000–8,000 is easily managed. They also highlighted that twice a month they do water quality testing and also raise awareness for water conservation by holding monthly meetings with the village members to save water.
Further, the village women shared that being the sole custodian of water, they understand the importance of water and aware community by doing door to door Inter Personal Communication regarding judicious use, save and conserve water. This is their responsibility for the future generation. They also shared their experience regarding reuse of used water and source sustainability measures.
During the interaction Dr. Jainder Singh Chhillar, DC, Palwal, highlighted that Amarpur is an exemplary village, which is already declared ODF Plus. Further, he stated that he is actively working with Public Health also centered around taking the village from ODF Plus toward the ‘Water Plus’ status. State officials informed that Haryana’s O&M Policy is being implemented through Panchayat-led management of water supply schemes. Over 400 Panchayats have already signed MoUs for community-led operations, supported by financial incentives linked to water charge collection.
GP-Ratanpur, District-South Tripura, Tripura: Interaction with the village members of Ratanpur was carried out in Bengali language. The VWSC beneficiaries reported that Jal Jeevan Mission has delivered tap connections to all village households, Anganwadis and schools. Residents confirmed regular, adequate quantity and quality of water from a borewell source is available which has eliminated prior hardship of fetching water from distant sources. They mentioned that the Gram Panchayat maintains complaints register, where operators attend to faults, and minor issues are resolved locally within 2–3 days. They also highlighted that water quality testing is conducted monthly with household samples; VWSC members use FTKs and record results. While interaction with school students, they confirmed availability of drinking water and separate toilets within the school premises.
The District Magistrate & Collector of South Tripura reported that District Improvement Plan includes Ratanpur’s Village Action Plan which is now successfully integrated into the GPDP via e-Gram Swaraj. He mentioned that the Jal Utsav and Jal Arpan is completed along with Nal Jal Mitra training programme across the Gram Panchayats. The SWSM official highlighted extensive IEC plan implementation, functional accredited NABL laboratories at state, district and sub-divisional level, and ongoing Nal Jal Mitra trainings.
GP- Gindiyal, District- Kargil, Ladakh: The village representatives shared their experiences in Hindi language while interacting with NJJM official, highlighting the transformational impact of the Jal Jeevan Mission. Beneficiaries recalled extreme hardships that they faced before the implementation of JJM, with women trekking up to 7–10 km and breaking ice to fetch water in winters with temperatures plummeting to -40°C. With JJM’s interventions, tap connections now reach every household, Anganwadis and schools, ending the daily drudgery and ensuring regular, adequate supply.
Villagers described technical adaptations for the harsh climate, with pipelines laid below the frost line, insulation in rocky stretches, soak pits for wastewater recharge, and reliance on mapped natural springs. The Panchayat procured tools and trained local personnel; five operators and trained women conduct bi-monthly water testing using FTKs and send samples to district labs. They highlighted that a dedicated WhatsApp group and complaint register enable rapid grievance redressal and minor faults are fixed within days.
Shri Rakesh Kumar, Deputy Commissioner and Magistrate underscored specialised engineering needs, winter-proofing, and the importance of mapping and protecting spring sources in the terrain region of Kargil. He outlined measures adopted for winter-proofing water supply systems, including laying pipelines below the frost line, insulation in rocky stretches, maintaining running water stage, and integrating soak pits. He reported completion of Nal Jal Mitra training across 170 Gram Panchayats and Village Committees and use of 16th Finance Commission grants to institutionalise their role for local technical support. He further confirmed monthly DWSM reviews are conducted and assured to intensify field monitoring to ensure timely implementation of directives.
While commending the progress of the UT, Shri Kamal Kishore Soan, AS&MD, NJJM recalled his visit to Ladakh last year, where he observed that in some areas, spring water streams were getting contaminated due to mixing with drainage water, posing serious health risks. He emphasised that such instances must be strictly prevented to ensure the supply of clean and safe drinking water. He also highlighted the importance of establishing a robust and continuous monitoring system to safeguard water quality.
In his concluding remark and way forward, AS & MD, NJJM, Shri Kamal Kishore Soan, expressed appreciation to the active support of District Collectors and Gram Panchayats for their commitment towards JJM.
He encouraged continued efforts to accelerate such best practices and bring more Panchayats on board, so that similar models of transparency, community engagement and accountability can be replicated at gram panchayat level. He highlighted that the Jal Seva Aankalan is a fact-finding exercise intended to identify service gaps for corrective action. If issues remain unaddressed today, they will become far more serious in future, so to address this he urged the DCs to convene regular DWSM meetings and devote focused time each month to review water and sanitation matters.
The Samvad started by setting the context and sharing objective by Shri Y K Singh, Director, NJJM. He said that the Samvad aims to listen village communities, understand their experiences and learn local practices on O&M, and source sustenance. (JKNS)
