Water supply schemes under Jal Jeevan Mission inaugurated on the Indo-Myanmar border in Manipur

Chief Minister of Manipur Shri N Biren Singh inaugurated two water supply projects for two villages under Jal Jeevan Mission. The two villages on the Indo Myanmar border are remote and once totally insurgent infested, now getting regular water supply under Jal Jeevan Mission. Khangbarol village of Khengjoy sub division, Chandel, an aspirational district in Manipur is situated 69 km away from district headquarter. The Village lies about 30 km from the Indo Myanmar border. There are 82 households in the village. The water supply system has been designed keeping in mind the projected population of about 1,000 till 2041. With an estimated cost of Rs. 60 lakh, this gravity based water supply system ensured tap water connection to all 82 households with present population of about 450. There is a perennial source of water from “Khangbarollok” located at a distance of 6 km away from the treatment site. As the source is located at a higher elevation than the treatment site, gravity based water supply scheme was taken up. Another village Khengjoy in Khengjoy Sub Division of Chandel district, is situated at 60 km away from district headquarter. The village is about 20 Km from the Indo-Myanmar border. The newly inaugurated water supply system caters to the water need of 73 families by providing tap water connection. Now, the operation & maintenance of the scheme is with the Village Water & Sanitation Committee as envisaged under the Jal Jeevan Mission to ensure regular and long-term supply of potable water in rural areas.

Accessibility remained the biggest challenge in implementation of the water supply schemes in the hilly areas as the region is inaccessible during the monsoon season. Transportation of material is only possible during particular time. Also all materials were transported either from Imphal/ Pallel town. Communication is the next biggest challenges as the area have poor network coverage, so in most case dedicated man-power mobilized in the area adding constrained to the already limited manpower. In spite of Covid-19 pandemic, the officials of Public Health Engineering Department had worked hard to ensure tap water reaches every rural home in these far-flung villages.

A mid-term review of implementation of JJM in Manipur was held recently, wherein Manipur State officials presented the progress to the National Jal Jeevan Mission team. In order to assess the progress of implementation of the mission in States/ UTs, a mid-year review is underway through video conferencing, wherein all States and UTs are presenting the status of tap water connection to rural homes as well as the institutional mechanisms in place for universal coverage. Manipur has around 4.5 lakh households, but only 30,379 households have tap water connections. During 2020-21, the State aims to provide 2 lakhs FHTC. During the current year, State is planning for 100% coverage of 1 district and 15 blocks and 1,275 villages. State has planned for 100% provision of household tap connections by 2023 under Jal Jeevan Mission.

In 2020-21, an amount of Rs 131.80 Crore has been allocated to the State of Manipur, out of which Rs. 32.95 Crore has been released to the State. State is eligible for additional allocation based on physical and financial performance. Since Manipur has been allocated ₹ 177 Crores under 15^th Finance Commission Grants to PRIs and 50% of it is to be used for water supply and sanitation, the State has to plan for utilizing this fund for rural water supply, grey-water management and most importantly for ensuring long-term operation & maintenance of water supply schemes.