Goa, first state in India to receive “Har Ghar Jal” certification
Goa and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu (D&NH and D&D) becomes the first ‘Har Ghar Jal’ certified State and UT in the country respectively, where people from all the villages have declared their village as ‘Har Ghar Jal’ through a resolution passed by Gram Sabha, certifying that all households in the villages have access to safe drinking water through taps, ensuring that ‘No One is Left Out’. All 85,156 of the 85,635,000 rural households in Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, and Goa have access to potable water via a tap connection with Har Ghar Jal.
Goa gets Har Ghar Jal Certificate: Key Points
- Jal Jeevan Mission is a flagship programme of Government of India which was announced from the ramparts of Red Fort by visionary Prime Minister on August 15, 2019. The mission aims to make provision of potable tap water supply in adequate quantity, of prescribed quality and on regular & long-term basis to every rural household of the country by 2024. The program is implemented by Government of India in partnership with States/UTs.
- The initiative is carried out by the Indian government in collaboration with the States and UTs.
- Despite numerous setbacks and difficulties encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic, this success is the result of the persistent efforts of Goa‘s Panchayat members, Pani Samitis,
- District and State/UT officials, and D&NH and D&D. The tap connection currently provides access to potable water for all schools, anganwadi centres, public institutions, including Gram Panchayat buildings, healthcare facilities, community centres, ashramshalas, and other government structures.
Har Ghar Jal: Jal Jeevan Mission
According to the certification process outlined in the Jal Jeevan Mission‘s Margdarshika (Har Ghar Jal), the field engineer must first present a completion certificate for the water delivery plan to the Panchayat during a meeting of the Gram Sabha. Through a Gram Sabha resolution, the villages attest that every household has a consistent supply of water of the required quality, with no household being left out. Additionally, they attest to the fact that all public institutions, including schools and anganwadi centres, receive tap water.
All 378 villages in Goa and 96 in D&NH and D&D have established Village Water and Sanitation Committees, or paani samitis. The Har Ghar Jal program’s water supply infrastructure must be operated, maintained, and repaired by VWSC. This Gram Panchayat subcommittee is also in charge of collecting user fees, which will be put in a bank account and utilised to cover the honorarium of the pump operator and occasionally do minor repairs.