ADC Ruopfukuotuo Noudi along with other officials during the review meeting held at the ADC’s Office Chamber in Kohima on July 22. (DIPR Photo)
Kohima, July 23 (MExN): The District Water and Sanitation Committee (DWSC), Kohima, has reviewed the progress of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) and Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) [SBM(G)], with officials stating that around 90 per cent of the district has been covered under the rural tap water scheme.
The meeting, held on July 22 under the chairmanship of Additional Deputy Commissioner Ruopfukuotuo Noudi, discussed the implementation of the two flagship programmes and the need for better coordination among line departments.
Referring to a communication from the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Noudi said the district had not uploaded the minutes of DWSC meetings over the past year and stressed the need for timely uploading of proceedings. He also reviewed the status of water quality testing and urged departments to strengthen coordination for effective implementation of water and sanitation programmes.
The Executive Engineer of the PHED Rural Division, Kohima, presented the progress of JJM, which aims to provide functional household tap water connections to every rural household, and SBM(G), which seeks to achieve and sustain Open Defecation Free (ODF) Plus villages.
Officials informed the meeting that, under JJM, 35 of the district's 66 habitations have achieved Har Ghar Jal status, while the remaining villages are targeted for completion by December.
Under SBM(G), 46 of the 63 habitations have been declared ODF Plus Model villages, with the remaining 17 expected to achieve the status by December.
The committee also reviewed the ongoing exercise to integrate Jal Jeevan Mission infrastructure data and upload it to an online portal for public access. It was informed that information, education and communication (IEC) activities were conducted from June 1 to 5 to raise awareness about the mission, while assistance from the Rural Development Department has been sought for implementation.
Officials said limited funds and high targets continue to pose challenges to the implementation of the scheme. They added that priority is being given to providing tap water connections to medical centres.
The School Education Department informed the meeting that 55 of the district's 116 schools, including 93 rural schools, have been provided with tap water connections, while the remaining schools are yet to be covered.
The committee decided that the School Education Department would submit a list of schools requiring tap water connections to the concerned department for necessary action.
