New Delhi, Oct 23 Nearly 54 lakh stakeholders are proposed to be covered under a capacity-building programme of Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 to strengthen community-led management of rural drinking water systems, the Ministry of Jal Shakti said on Friday.
The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) organised a national-level Training of Trainers (ToT) programme for state-level trainers at India Habitat Centre here to strengthen capacities for large-scale community training and sustainable delivery of rural drinking water services.
The training focused on an eight-module package comprising “The Story of Panipur: A Story-Based Self-learning Handbook on Rural Drinking Water Supply Management” and a Trainer’s Facilitation Manual.
The package aims to build the capacities of gram panchayat representatives, Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSCs), Sujalam Shakti Groups and other grassroots institutions to manage and sustain village water supply systems.
Addressing the programme, Kamal Kishore Soan, Additional Secretary and Mission Director of the National Jal Jeevan Mission, said the long-term sustainability of rural drinking water systems depends on community ownership and institutional responsibility.
He stressed the need to integrate the training modules into existing Rural Development and Panchayati Raj training systems to ensure continued capacity building beyond the Mission period.
Soan called for convergence of Jal Jeevan Mission with Gram Panchayat Development Plans, Panchayati Raj Institutions, Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, tied grants under the 16th Finance Commission and VB-G RAM G.
He said panchayat representatives should be aware of available financial resources and planning mechanisms to incorporate water source sustainability, operation and maintenance requirements, and local drinking water priorities into development plans.
Swati Meena Naik, Joint Secretary in the DDWS, said the sustainability of drinking water infrastructure depends on informed communities and capable local institutions that could operate and maintain the systems effectively.
The training package uses storytelling, folk communication, role plays, community interactions and gamification to help trainers explain complex concepts in a simple and practical manner, she said.
Naik highlighted the role of digital initiatives such as Sujalam Bharat and layered dashboards in promoting transparency, accountability and informed decision-making in rural water governance.
She also stressed the role of Sujalam Shakti Groups in promoting women’s leadership and community mobilisation.
Built around the fictional village of Panipur, the package covers water supply systems, source sustainability, water quality, institutional arrangements, operation and maintenance, digital governance, community ownership and the development of sustainable Sujal Gaons.
Representatives of UNICEF and UNOPS shared field experiences and approaches to training trainers and conducting grassroots programmes in coordination with State Institutes of Rural Development.
They also offered support to state public health engineering and rural water supply departments in conducting state and district-level training.
(PTI News)
