The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) has achieved a major milestone by providing tap water access to over 15.71 crore rural households, covering 81.17% of rural India. As the Mission enters its next phase, the focus shifts from infrastructure delivery to ensuring long-term sustainability, functionality, and reliable service delivery.

Recognising the crucial role of district administrations in achieving this vision, the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti, organised the first-ever District Collectors’ Peyjal Samvad — a national dialogue to strengthen district-led governance, encourage innovation, and promote peer learning under JJM.

The event, held through video conference, was chaired by Ashok K. K. Meena, Secretary, DDWS, in the presence of Kamal Kishore Soan, Additional Secretary & Mission Director, National Jal Jeevan Mission (NJJM), Swati Meena Naik, Joint Secretary, NJJM, along with senior officials, District Collectors, Mission Directors, and State Mission teams.

The initiative builds on a sustained reform programme to empower districts and local institutions in managing rural water systems. In recent months, DDWS has interacted with 729 District Collectors through in-person and virtual dialogues, launched JJM-IMIS Dashboards for data monitoring, and developed Panchayat dashboards aligned with eGram Swaraj. More than 80,000 Sarpanches have also been engaged through the Sarpanch Samvad mobile app, promoting transparency and community participation.

In his keynote address, Ashok K. K. Meena said that JJM, having achieved over 81% rural household coverage, is now focused on institutional consolidation, accountability, and sustainability. He noted that every district has unique solutions and innovations that can inspire others and emphasized the need to strengthen local institutions to make water services more data-driven, accountable, and community-owned.

Presentations by District Collectors from East Khasi Hills (Meghalaya), Ganjam (Odisha), Ratnagiri (Maharashtra), Charaideo (Assam), Dhamtari (Chhattisgarh) and North Tripura (Tripura) highlighted district-level innovations such as source protection through plantations, community monitoring, SHG-led maintenance, and technology-enabled grievance redressal platforms. The Secretary appreciated these efforts and said they would serve as valuable learning models for other districts.

Digital Transformation in Rural Water Governance

Swati Meena Naik, Joint Secretary, NJJM, presented the roadmap for strengthening digital systems to ensure sustainable rural water service delivery. She explained the significance of the Rural Piped Water Supply Scheme (RPWSS) ID Module, a new digital tool that assigns a unique identity to every water supply scheme for real-time tracking and transparent monitoring.

Integrated with PM Gati Shakti, this module supports spatial planning and helps District Collectors and Panchayats track performance, plan maintenance, and manage resources efficiently. It also provides geo-referenced layouts and digital maps, enabling preventive maintenance and faster decision-making.

For citizens, the system ensures greater transparency by mapping pipelines up to the household level and providing online water quality and grievance redressal platforms. Naik emphasized that District Collectors and District Water and Sanitation Missions (DWSMs) are central to implementing this digital transformation to make service delivery more efficient, accountable, and citizen responsive.

Towards Sustainable Rural Water Governance

Kamal Kishore Soan, Additional Secretary and Mission Director, NJJM, highlighted that JJM has evolved from an infrastructure scheme into a movement of governance reform, decentralisation, and people’s participation.

He emphasized the importance of community empowerment, protecting rural water infrastructure, and monitoring water source contamination. He also announced that the District Collectors’ Peyjal Samvad would become a recurring national platform for peer learning, innovation exchange, and problem-solving among districts.

Concluding the session, he remarked, “If we save water, it will endure — and only if it endures, will it be available to us.”

The Department reaffirmed that achieving Har Ghar Jal marks not an end, but the beginning of a new era of community-driven, digitally empowered, and sustainable rural water governance, ensuring that every village in India stands as a model of resilience, dignity, and shared responsibility.