Focus: GS-II Social Justice
Why in news?
The Government is planning for a livelihood provision to boost rural economy under Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan (GKRA) to start extensive public works.
Details
- As part of this Abhiyan, Jal Jeevan Mission aims at providing household tap connections to every rural household and offers a huge opportunity to engage skilled, semi-skilled and migrant returnees in drinking water supply related works.
- States have been requested to start works in villages of these districts so that it will not only help to ensure adequate quantity of water at household level but will also help in providing employment to migrant returnees.
- States have been advised to prioritize taking up works which are easy to complete, by augmenting or retrofitting existing piped water supply schemes so that these villages become ‘Har Ghar Jal Gaon’ i.e. 100% Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) villages.
- There is a huge potential to provide household connections to remaining households in villages belonging to poor and marginalized people by retro-fitting of existing piped water supply systems.
- Campaigns to be launched for providing training to impart skills to local people including returnee migrants in plumbing, masonry, electrical aspects, pump operation, etc., so that skilled manpower will be available for water supply related works.
- This time bound campaign is focused implementation in 116 districts including 27 aspirational districts, spread in 6 States viz Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan
- Government of India has decided to launch a massive rural public works scheme ‘Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan’ to empower and provide livelihood opportunities to the returnee migrant workers and rural citizens.
- This campaign of 125 days will involve intensified and focused implementation of 25 different types of works to provide employment to the migrant workers on one hand and create infrastructure in the rural regions of the country on the other hand.
- Beneficiaries: Approximately 116 districts spread over 6 states namely Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha have received substantial numbers of returnees, which includes 27 Aspirational Districts.
- The Abhiyaan will be a coordinated effort between 12 different Ministries/Departments.
Jal Jeevan Mission
- Jal Jeevan Mission, a central government initiative under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, aims to ensure access of piped water for every household in India.
- National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) was restructured and subsumed into Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) – to provide Functional Household Tap Water (FHTC) to every rural household with service level at the rate of 55 lpcd i.e., Har Ghar Nal Se Jal (HGNSJ) by 2024.
Implications
- Supply of water to all households is a basic necessity
- Reduction in water borne diseases which was due to due to consumption of substandard water
Challenges
- Critical situation of Decrease in ground water table.
- Water demand and supply is a miss match
- Contamination of local ground level sources of water like, ponds lakes and wells.
- Sustaining the provision of water to all households is a challenge, not just starting it.
