Jal Shakti Minister to chair conference of NE states on Monday

New Delhi: With focus on implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) and Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen), Union Minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will chair a regional conference of ministers of the north east tates on Monday in Guwahati.

In a statement, the Ministry of Jal Shakti said that the Union Minister will be setting the roadmap for the north east States, keeping in line with the guidance received from Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Webinar on ‘Post Union Budget 2022 – Leaving No Citizen Behind’, held on February 23.

During the webinar the Prime Minister had said, “A clear roadmap must be built so that States/UTs can achieve the target within the stipulated time frame. Priority should be given to North-Eastern border States, hilly regions and aspirational districts.”

“Difficult terrain, heavy rain and snowfall coupled with erratic supply of construction material greatly impacts the progress of the mission work in the border regions of the north-east. Reaffirming the commitment towards public health and well-being of the people living in rural areas, the Union Budget 2022-23 fund allocation for JJM has been increased from Rs 45,000 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 60,000 crore in 2022-23. For SBM (G) Rs 7,192 crore have been allocated in the Budget 2022-23,” the ministry said.

‘Har Ghar Jal’ is a flagship programme of the Union Government being implemented in partnership with States and Union Territory (UTs), aimed at providing tap water connection to every rural household in the country by 2024. Manipur, Meghalaya and Sikkim aim to achieve Har Ghar Jal in 2022.

The deadline set by Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Tripura and Nagaland is 2023, and Assam aims to meet the goal in 2024.

Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G) is another flagship programme being implemented by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

All the States in the country achieved Open Defecation Free (ODF) status by October 2, 2019, when villages across India had declared themselves ODF. In its second phase, SBM-G is focusing on ODF sustainability and to achieve solid and liquid waste management in all villages by 2024-25 to transform the villages to ODF Plus.

–IANS