Earlier a report by SBI also highlighted that 9 crore women no longer fetch water from outside owing to ‘JJM: Har Ghar Jal’ initiative.
Significance of JJM for Women Empowerment
- Skill Development: Water availability at doorstep allows women to focus on skill development and self-reliance.
- Also, time saved leads to a 7.4 percentage point increase in women’s participation in agriculture and businesses.
- Leadership: JJM mandates 50% of village water and sanitation committees members be women, prioritizing their needs in water planning, and enhancing leadership roles.
- Employment Opportunities: JJM is expected to generate 59.9 lakh direct employment boosting economic opportunities for women.
About JJM: Har Ghar Jal
- Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Jal Shakti
- Type: Centrally Sponsored Schemes
- Objective: Ensure every rural household has access to safe and reliable tap water by 2024.
- Goal: To develop 'WASH enlightened villages' wherein the local communities are equipped to provide long-term assured water supply and sanitation services to all.
- Focus on children: Piped water supply in schools, anganwadi centres and ashramshalas
- Key Components: Ensuring Water Quality, Bottom-Up Planning, Source Sustainability, Greywater Management, and Skill Development & Employment.
- Key achievement: Rural coverage for tap water connection is raised to 79.31% from just 17% (3.23 crore households) in 2019.
