- Lanker Pombay village in Kulgam districts receives tap water within premises of households for first time
Jammu and Kashmir has made significant strides in improving access to clean water in rural households through the Jal Jeevan Mission. The Union Territory is marking substantial progress towards achieving the goal of Jal Jeevan Mission with many far-flung and hilly areas getting tap water supply for the first time. The latest example of achievements under the mission is village Lanker Pombay of Panchayat Halqa Khaloora in district Kulgam, comprising of about 80 households. This habitation was not having any sustainable water supply scheme and inhabitants were finding it very hard to meet their water demand. Public would mainly depend on hand pumps drilled in the village and water tankers supplied by the department, for meeting their daily domestic water needs on bare minimum basis.
With the launch of Jal Jeevan Mission, a water supply scheme with dug-well as source, at an estimated cost of Rs. 187.68 lakh, was conceived for this habitation for providing the potable water supplies as per prescribed standards, after thoroughly discussing the proposal with the locals who univocally consented for it. The land for the construction of 0.60 lakh Gallons RCC SR was provided by the villagers themselves, although the same being Govt. land, but the possession was taken without any hindrance. The people centric and inclusive approach adopted in conceiving this water supply scheme rekindled their hope and the public reposed faith in the department for having a sustainable water supply system.
Now, this scheme with a rising main length of 2000 m, distribution pipe network of about 6000m and Reinforced Cement Concrete Service Reservoir, stands completed as on date and the water supply through household level tap connections has been provided to this habitation.
Jal Jeevan Mission aims to provide every rural household with a Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) within their premises, capable of delivering a minimum of 55 liters of water per capita per day while adhering to quality standards outlined in BIS 10500. More than 3200 water supply schemes have been taken up across the UT at an estimated cost of about Rs. 13000 crores, against which Rs. 7000 crores (approx.) have been expended so far with completion of about 1400 schemes and the remaining projects are at advanced stages of completion.
To ensure transparency and accountability in the implementation of the Mission, a robust monitoring mechanism under the overall supervision of Mission Director, Jal Jeevan Mission with various units like UT level experts/consultants, District Project Management Units (DPMUs), Third Party Monitoring Inspection Agencies (TPIAs) and Pani Samiti’s besides District Jal Jeevan Mission (DJJM) headed by respective District Development Commissioners (DDCs) has been established in addition to regular monitoring by field engineers & Technicians. Local communities have also actively participated in planning, implementation & monitoring of the mission activities at the village level. Procurement of material and execution of all works is done through competitive e-tendering process. The physical and financial details related to schemes being executed under JJM is readily available in the public domain on JJM-IMIS Dashboard.
To ensure cost-effectiveness and efficiency in project completion within established timelines, proven and successful solutions from regions like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Ladakh have been adopted. These solutions include the utilization of HDPE pipe distribution systems in specific locations and the incorporation of GRP water storage tanks.
With the accelerated pace of implementation over the past year, J&K remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring drinking water security for all its rural residents for the next three decades.