The Centre has asked states and Union Territories to accelerate efforts to provide drinking water to every eligible tribal village and habitation covered under two flagship tribal development programmes, with Rs 5,000 crore earmarked under Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 to bridge the remaining gaps.
The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) held its second follow-up review and convergence meeting on Wednesday to assess progress on commitments made by states and UTs under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN) and Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DA-JGUA).
Focus on full coverage
The meeting, chaired by DDWS Secretary Ashok K K Meena, brought together senior officials from the National Jal Jeevan Mission (NJJM), Ministry of Tribal Affairs, state rural water supply and public health engineering departments and tribal welfare departments.
According to the Ministry of Jal Shakti, a dedicated provision of Rs 5,000 crore under JJM 2.0 has been earmarked to address drinking water gaps in villages covered by PM-JANMAN and DA-JGUA.
The review focused on identifying villages and habitations that remain uncovered, reconciling data maintained by different government departments, preparing technically viable proposals and establishing a common mechanism for validating and certifying drinking water coverage.
The Centre's objective is to achieve saturation, ensuring that every eligible tribal habitation identified under the programmes has access to reliable and sustainable drinking water services rather than merely expanding aggregate coverage.
Districts asked to review progress
Meena stressed that progress in PM-JANMAN and DA-JGUA villages should be reviewed regularly through District Water and Sanitation Mission (DWSM) meetings chaired by deputy commissioners or district magistrates.
The district-level mechanism is expected to bring together officials responsible for water supply and tribal welfare so that differences in data can be resolved locally and uncovered habitations identified before proposals are sent to the Centre.
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has also undertaken a state-wise SurveySetu exercise involving household-level verification of the status of functional household tap connections.
States have been advised to jointly present the SurveySetu findings before the DWSM. Representatives of water supply departments, tribal welfare departments and the agency conducting the survey are expected to participate in the exercise.
One database for coverage
A significant part of the exercise involves resolving discrepancies between multiple databases. States and UTs have been asked to establish a common validated database by harmonising information available under PM-JANMAN, DA-JGUA, SurveySetu and the Jal Jeevan Mission's Integrated Management Information System.
The Centre has asked states to use SurveySetu findings to identify habitations that may have been left out and prepare proposals jointly. These proposals will have to be supported by authenticated detailed project report checklists.
The exercise is intended to ensure that villages do not remain outside drinking water projects because of differences between databases maintained by tribal welfare and water supply authorities.
Joint validation is also expected to reduce instances where administrative records show a habitation as covered even though some households may still lack functional tap connections.
Technical scrutiny of projects
The NJJM's technical division has asked states to ensure that proposals are based on realistic population projections and conform to prescribed service levels.
Officials also emphasised adequate provisions for source sustainability and long-term water security. The cost per Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) should be reasonable and supported by technical justification, the Centre said.
The emphasis on source sustainability assumes significance because installing household connections alone does not ensure continuous water supply. Schemes need dependable water sources and infrastructure capable of meeting demand over the long term.
States will therefore be expected to demonstrate not only how connections will be provided but also how water availability will be sustained.
Joint ownership by departments
Kamal Kishore Soan, Additional Secretary and Managing Director of NJJM, said the meeting reiterated the need for joint ownership of the programme at the state level.
State rural water supply or public health engineering departments and tribal welfare departments will jointly prepare proposals and present them before a joint committee co-chaired by the secretaries of DDWS and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
At the district level, the DWSM headed by the deputy commissioner or district magistrate will serve as the principal platform for validation and decision-making. The survey agency and officials from the departments concerned will also participate.
The structure is intended to prevent drinking water projects in tribal areas from being planned independently by different departments and to create a single process for identifying gaps and approving interventions.
States asked to fix proposals
The meeting also reviewed state-wise progress and observations on proposals already submitted.
Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Kerala and Manipur were asked to address issues concerning Local Government Directory codes, DPR documentation, prescribed service levels and costs per functional household tap connection.
Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Assam were asked to act on observations already communicated by DDWS.
Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh informed the Centre that they would submit proposals during October covering PM-JANMAN and DA-JGUA villages identified as requiring drinking water interventions.
Push for sustainable supply
The Centre's latest review places particular emphasis on moving beyond simply counting tap connections. The proposed system requires states to reconcile household-level data, validate it at the district level and ensure that projects provide reliable water supply backed by sustainable sources.
Once the databases are harmonised, states will be expected to identify the remaining gaps, prepare technically sound projects and submit them for consideration without delay.
The exercise ultimately aims to certify saturation only after eligible villages and habitations have been jointly verified, with the Centre seeking to ensure that tribal settlements do not remain outside the drinking water network because of data mismatches, incomplete project proposals or coordination gaps between departments.