The Public Health Engineering (PHE) and Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) departments of Jammu and Kashmir have been renamed Jal Shakti department.
An order in this regard was issued by General Administration Department (GAD), approving renaming of the departments.
The government has also ordered constitution of JalJeevan Mission (JJM) in Jammu and Kashmir, with an apex committee and executive committee and mission directorate. According to a separate order sanction has been accorded to abolition of erstwhile State Water and Sanitation Mission under National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP).
Under the JJM, an apex level committee has been constituted comprising 12 officials as per the operational guidelines of the Mission. The Chief Secretary will head the panel, as per the order.
This committee will provide policy guidance for the overall planning, strategizing and implementation of the Mission in Jammu and Kashmir, “It will give approval of action plan/road map for providing Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) to every rural household,” reads the order.
The committee will lay down water quality and service standard in consonance with the Centre’s guidelines to recommend charges for providing FHTC to rural household, to monitor financial discipline including timely utilization of funds, to coordinate among departments and other agencies for convergence of funds, to devolve powers to District JJM for accord of administrative approval of intra-district and in-village infrastructure water supply schemes, to prepare suitable incentive based interventions to encourage water conservation as well as to raise revenue to meet recurring expenditure on bulk water.
It will also plan distribution network and household level supply, to ensure effective policies and regulation for efficient water use by other sectors including industries, agriculture and institution in tune with J&K State Water Resources (Regional and Management) Act, 2010, and as per guidelines fixed by the State Water Resources Regulatory Authority from time to time, to enforce uniform policy for use of ground water
The committee shall meet at least once in a quarter and shall serve by Jal Shakti Department.
Similarly, executive committee under JJM comprising 11 officers under the chairmanship of Mission Director of the Mission has also been constituted.
This committee will function under overall control and supervision of apex committee and provide required assistance to the committee for implementation of JJM objective and its operational guidelines, to provide required support to the District JJM and to promote innovation and new technology wherever feasible, to take up evolution studies,
The committee shall meet at least once in a month and will be served by mission director JJM. The GAD also sanctioned abolition of erstwhile district Water and Sanitation Mission and approved constitution of 12-member District JJMs with district commissioner as chairman.
The constitution of Village Water and Sanitation Committee (VWSCs) as per the guidelines issued by apex committee shall provide required support to halqapanchayats for implementation of JJM schemes.
