J&K set to see completion of Jal Jeevan Mission by June 2023: Officials

Jammu [India], February 8 : Jammu & Kashmir Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta conducted a virtual tour of works taken up under the central flagship programme Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) worth Rs 11,000 crore across the Union Territory, an official statement informed on Wednesday, adding that every remaining rural household would get tap water connection under this mission by June this year.
As per an official, Mehta interacted with the public and officials of the department for taking a first-hand appraisal of the progress made in the mission so far.
"The virtual tour took place in a meeting attended by the Principal Secretary, Jal Shakti Department, Mission Director, JJM, Deputy Commissioners, Special Secretary, JSD, Director Finance, JSD, Chief Engineers, Superintending Engineers, Executive Engineers and other officers of the Jal Shakti Department," the statement added.
According to officials, the Chief Secretary asked the officers about the mission's progress and asked them to meet the deadlines without fail. He directed them to tender all the components of each scheme to complete them fully. He also urged them to expedite the tendering of remaining works so that these are taken up before March this year.
"He impressed upon them to involve the local people so that the scheme runs successfully in future as well. He enjoined the officers of the mission to augment the monitoring mechanism for the effective implementation of this mega mission. He also stressed third-party evaluation of the works besides a greater role for public representatives and Paani Samitis in monitoring progress," the statement added.
"He laid stress on using techniques like Critical Path Method (CPM) and Resource Management System for better control and understanding of the priority areas and discerning the way forward to complete each work on time, the statement informed.
As per an official, he instructed the officers to carry out the capacity building of the field workers so that the mission worth Rs 11,000 crore is implemented efficiently. He maintained that such missions provide a golden opportunity for departments to enhance their efficiency in terms of the capacity of their employees and address the manpower requirements as well.
"Mehta also asked about the pace of water testing under JJM and the remedial measures taken in case of poor quality water found anywhere. He urged upon them to involve people and PRI representatives in the testing process and give the testing kits to Paani Samitis for quality check of the tap water," it informed.
"Principal Secretary Shaleen Kabra informed the Chief Secretary that the mission has been under implementation since 2019 and has achieved substantial progress till now. He was informed in the meeting that all rural institutions like schools, Anganwadi centres and health institutions have been provided piped water under this mission," the statement further added.
"He revealed that every remaining rural household would get the tap water connection under this mission by June this year as most of the targets would be completed by then. In the presentation, he threw light on all the aspects of the mission. He gave a detailed analysis of the objectives, procedures, progress and way forward to take the mission to its logical conclusion," Mehta said, the statement informed.
While sharing the information on the progress of the project, officials informed the Chief Secretary that out of a total of 6,774 works, 6,712 had already been tendered out and 3,696 works stand allotted to date. It was further revealed that 1,893 works are currently under progress and 284 works stand completed in the UT. It was given out that all the works of the Mission would be allotted till March this year," an official statement said.
"The meeting was apprised that in order to enhance the transparency and monitoring of the works NGOs have been empanelled as Implementation Support Agencies (ISAs). These ISAs are going to work across villages and help in capacity building of Gram panchayats, Pani Samitis and perform other support activities as well," the statement added.