DDWS organises Twelfth Edition of Sujal Gram Samvad
he Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti, organised the 12th edition of the multilingual ‘Sujal Gram Samvad’ today, providing a platform for direct interaction with Gram Panchayat representatives and local communities on operation and maintenance (O&M) of rural drinking water systems. This reinforces the government’s commitment to community-led water governance under the Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0.
The Samvad was chaired by Ashok K.K. Meena, Secretary, DDWS, in the presence of Shri Kamal Kishore Soan, AS&MD, NJJM, along with Senior officers from the department.
Hemraj Bairwa, Dpty. Commissioner, Kangra and State Water and Sanitation Mission (SWSM), Himachal Pradesh, highlighted the State’s achievement of universal drinking water coverage and shared efforts being undertaken to strengthen women’s participation in water quality surveillance and implementation of Jal Seva Aankalan.
Manish Kumar, Dpty. Commissioner, West Singhbhum highlighted that all schools and Anganwadi centres have been connected with tap water and that water quality testing is undertaken regularly.
Pankaj Singh Parmar, District Panchayat Officer informed that digital monitoring systems, including SCADA-based arrangements, are being used to improve oversight of rural water supply services.
B. Henok Buchem, District Collector, Zunheboto mentioned that the WATSAN committee is proactive all initiatives are taken by the community itself, they had taken massive afforestation in the catchment areas as measure to source sustainability. (UPDATED ON 28TH OCTOBER 2026)
