Meghalaya has surpassed the national average in the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) by giving 72.37 per cent tap water connections to households.
This claim was made by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma today. This means that Meghalaya has achieved in providing tap water connections to 4, 71,544 households.
It may be mentioned that a number of complaints have been reported in the media regarding substandard implementation of JJM by contractors in the villages of the State. Some of these include faulty pipelines, poor construction of water tanks and lack of proper water sources.
“Today, Meghalaya has crossed the national average in terms of connections for Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). If you recall when we started the mission, Meghalaya was at 0.75 per cent which was the lowest in the country. Today, after a lot of hard work being done by all the engineers, officials, departments, ministers, we have finally crossed the national average which is at 72.1 percent and Meghalaya, today is at 72.37 per cent. We are very sure that in a very short time, we will be able to fulfill the 100 per cent target,” Sangma said.
“This accomplishment signifies a remarkable transformative vision, with the state moving from mere 0.7 per cent of households with tap water connections in 2019 to an impressive 72.37 per cent in 2023. As of August 15, 2019, Meghalaya had 4,550 households (0.70 per cent) with tap water connections. And to quantify this achievement, Meghalaya has grown from under 5,000 tap water connections in 2019 to a state of nearing 5 lakh connections,” Sangma said.
According to him, Meghalaya may be one of the first few states to achieve this. He however said that there are many challenges to be addressed.
“Apart from giving connections, there is the challenge pertaining to the water source. Hence, we are working with all concerned departments such as Water Resources, Soil Conservation, Forest Department, and others to see how we could mitigate and adapt to these kinds of challenges that we are facing. However, I am happy that we have finally crossed the national average in terms of the connections,” Sangma said.
Public Health Engineering Department Minister Marcuise Marak expressed the government’s commitment to achieving 100 per cent connections in the Jal Jeevan Mission.
He emphasised, “I am overjoyed to announce that Meghalaya has achieved a major milestone in the JJM implementation. With 4,71,544 connections today, our State proudly outperforms the national average of 72.1 per cent with an astounding 72.37 per cent. This accomplishment is a result of our communities’ and stakeholders’ combined efforts. Our joint dedication to supplying households with readily available water supplies is the reason for this achievement,” Marak said.
Marak urged all to move forward, adopting sustainable methods and encouraging community involvement.
“By working together, we can create a Meghalaya in which every resident has uninterrupted access to clean water,”” the PHE Minister said.
