National Jal Jeevan Mission (NJJM) has urged states and UTs for setting up IoT-based solutions for measurement and monitoring water supply in rural areas. It is an initiative to ensure water supply in village homes by pointing out various issues that cause disturbance in water supply daily.
With many supporting enablers making IoT conducive for companies who are seeking to serve the global needs beyond national boundaries, the Government of India has introduced several initiatives to leverage to benefit the disruptive IoT technologies in various sectors.
To utilize it, NJJM, Ministry of Jal Shakti has constituted a Technical Expert Committee to construct a road map for measuring and monitoring water supply in rural areas. The Committee has great members from academia, administration, technology, and specialists from the water supply sector.
The members have met 11 times despite the Covid pandemic, finalizing the report. The report shared with the states/UTs provides a framework to design, develop, and establish a coherent system that can exchange the data at the local and central level. This framework will help the states/UTs in framing the desired standards that will meet the requirement of changing the mere infrastructure to ensure the water supply.
The partnership of mission with the state governments and the sectors have started providing sensor-based water supply on a pilot basis in many villages. The data acquired from 11 pilot regions about the water supply, quantity, and regularity are shown on the Jal Jeevan Mission's dashboard.
Several states such as Bihar, Punjab, Haryana came forward for the implementation. States such as Sikkim, Manipur, Goa have done the basic survey works.
Gujarat has started the navigation of sensor-based water supply systems in 1,000 villages. A technology grand challenge by the NJJM in partnership with Meity, the Government of India will be showcased in 100 villages of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujrat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Manipur.
The data received from these locations will transmit to the state and the Centre that can be used to monitor the functionality of the water supply. It will ensure the reduction of the delivery outage and water wastage and monitor the quantity and quality of water on a long-term basis. Another advantage of the data would be to analyse the need of the user groups over time and use this information to minimize revenue water, ensure proper management, and maintenance of water supply in villages.
JJM focuses on water supply at the household level. Under the Gram Panchayat mission and its sub-committee, they are required to function as a local public utility for the management of drinking water, water supply, greywater treatment and reuse, operations and maintenance of in-village water supply to ensure drinking water supply to every village household on a daily and long-term basis.
