Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 to need over 13 lakh workers, Centre asks states to step up skilling

The Centre Monday asked states and Union Territories to accelerate skilling initiatives under Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0, with assessments indicating that more than 13 lakh trained personnel could be required in the coming years to operate and maintain rural drinking water infrastructure across the country.

The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) made the push at its first national virtual conference with states and UTs following a departmental summit held on September 1-2 on strengthening the rural water workforce. DDWS Secretary Ashok K K Meena said the long-term success of the mission would depend not only on creating infrastructure but also on ensuring the availability of trained personnel to operate, maintain and monitor water supply systems.

Focus on Nal Jal Mitra

A key focus of the meeting was the rollout of the Nal Jal Mitra programme, which seeks to create a pool of skilled workers at the local level to maintain rural drinking water systems. The DDWS, in collaboration with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and the National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET), has developed a National Skills Qualifications Framework-aligned qualification for the sector.

States were briefed on two training routes — a 510-hour short-term training course for new entrants and a 120-hour Recognition of Prior Learning programme for people already working as operators, plumbers, electricians, pump attendants and other personnel associated with rural water supply systems. The department said assessments suggested that more than 13 lakh workers, including technicians, plumbers, electricians, pump mechanics and water-quality personnel, could be required in the coming years for operation and maintenance.

Women-led water testing

The conference also discussed Sujalam Shakti, an initiative aimed at building a women-led workforce for village-level water quality surveillance, testing and basic disinfection. In its first phase, the programme is expected to train around 1.35 lakh to 1.70 lakh women by converging with state rural livelihood missions, Panchayati Raj institutions and other training networks.

The initiative is intended to create locally available personnel who can regularly monitor drinking water quality and undertake basic interventions instead of depending entirely on outside technical teams.

States and UTs have been asked to decide by October 15 whether they will adopt the existing Nal Jal Mitra course or develop a state-specific training programme. They have also been advised to carry out detailed human resource assessments at the gram panchayat, block and district levels to identify existing manpower and gaps.

From taps to services

Additional Secretary and Mission Director, National Jal Jeevan Mission, Kamal Kishore Soan asked states and UTs to speed up the adoption of both skilling initiatives and put in place mechanisms for deployment, remuneration and performance monitoring of trained workers.

The emphasis on manpower marks a shift in the next phase of the Jal Jeevan Mission from primarily creating infrastructure to ensuring that rural drinking water systems continue to function over the long term. As piped water networks expand, their sustainability will increasingly depend on routine maintenance, repairs, water-quality monitoring and the availability of workers who can respond locally when systems develop faults.

The government is therefore seeking to build a decentralised workforce rather than rely solely on infrastructure creation. The proposed pool of more than 13 lakh skilled personnel and the women-led water-quality initiative are intended to address the operation and maintenance requirements that will accompany the expansion of rural piped water networks under JJM 2.0.