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A review meeting regarding the progress of drinking water schemes under the Jal Jeevan Mission was held at the Collectorate auditorium in Varanasi on Saturday.
The meeting was chaired by District Magistrate Satyendra Kumar, in the presence of Chief Development Officer Prakhar Kumar Singh, Executive Engineer of Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam (Rural), Project Manager of M/s L&T, Assistant Engineers, and other officials concerned. During the review, District Magistrate Satyendra Kumar directed that 135 drinking water schemes with 90 to 99 per cent progress must be completed within the stipulated September-October 2026 deadline. He further instructed that 74 schemes with 75 to 90 per cent progress be finished by December 2026, and 64 schemes with 50 to 75 per cent progress by February 2027. To ensure targets are met on time, the District Magistrate asked officials to make the necessary increase in manpower by September 2026. He also directed that pending matters at the tehsil level and issues concerning National Highway NOCs be resolved through weekly video conferences and monthly physical meetings. He urged all officers concerned to expedite work to ensure the timely and quality implementation of the schemes. Meanwhile, in a significant initiative, the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti, in collaboration with the Ministry of Rural Development, on August 27 called for the convergence of works of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) 2.0 and Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) SBM-(G) 2.0 under the Viksit Bharat: Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Grameen) (VB-G RAM G) Act, 2025. This convergence is an initiative towards strengthening rural development and integrated planning for rural water security and resilience. The VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, identifies water security as one of its four thematic focus areas, recognising its importance for sustainable livelihoods, agricultural productivity, climate resilience and long-term rural development. The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) 2.0, approved on March 10, places drinking water source sustainability, groundwater recharge and greywater management at the core of its strategy to ensure reliable and resilient rural drinking water services, according to a press release. As per the release, under the convergence plan, the States and UTs have been requested to ensure proper integrated planning, prioritise water security under the VGPPs, include the official in charge of the Rural Water Supply/Public Health Engineering Department in the State-level Steering Committee constituted under the Act, nominate dedicated nodal officers from the State Water and Sanitation Mission and Rural Development Department, with corresponding nodal officers to facilitate planning, implementation and monitoring of convergent activities, technically align VGPPs with Village Action Plans under JJM 2.0 and SBM-G 2.0, register and geo-tag all works under JJM 2.0 and SBM-G 2.0 and other convergent assets on the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack. (ANI)
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