Meghalaya surpasses national average in Jal Jeevan Mission

GUWAHATI: Meghalaya has reached a monumental milestone as it has surpassed the national average in the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), achieving 72.37 per cent connections.

This accomplishment signifies a remarkable transformative vision, with the state moving from mere 0.7 per cent of households with tap water connections in 2019 to an impressive 72.37 per cent in 2023.

Meghalaya’s achievement of 4,71,544 connections is a testament to the dedicated efforts of the government in realising this transformative vision.

As of August 15, 2019, Meghalaya had 4,550 households (0.70 per cent) with tap water connections and to quantify this achievement, the hill state has grown from under 5,000 tap water connections in 2019 to five lakh connections.

Reflecting on this transformative journey, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said, “Today, Meghalaya has crossed the national average in terms of connections for JJM. If you recall when we started the mission, Meghalaya was at 0.75 per cent which was the lowest in the country. Today, after a lot of hard work by all the engineers, officials, departments and ministers, we have finally crossed the national average which is at 72.1 per cent and Meghalaya today is at 72.37 per cent.”

“We are very sure that in a very short time, we will be able to fulfill the 100 per cent target. We may be one of the first few states to complete it but while we say this, there are many challenges to be addressed. Apart from giving connections, we have challenges pertaining to the water source. Hence, we are working with all concerned departments such as Water Resources, Soil Conservation and Forest Department among others, to see how we could mitigate and adapt to these kinds of challenges that we are facing,” Chief Minister Sangma added.

The Chief Minister further said that he is happy that the state has finally crossed the national average in terms of the connections and would like to congratulate the concerned minister and the entire team, especially the engineers, officials and the contractors, who made this possible.

The achievement underscores Meghalaya’s commitment to improving the lives of its citizens and achieving the overarching goals of the JJM.

The state remains steadfast in its pursuit of ensuring water connections for every rural household, contributing significantly to the success of this flagship programme.