Centre works to strengthen local capacity under Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0

The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) under the Jal Shakti Ministry on Thursday organised a national workshop to strengthen capacity-building for gram panchayats, village water and sanitation committees (VWSCs) and Sujalam Shakti Groups under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) 2.0.

The workshop brought together representatives from states and Union Territories (UTs), rural water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) partners, training institutions and other stakeholders to review and discuss capacity-building modules developed for field-level functionaries, including gram panchayat representatives.

The consultation focused on the content, teaching approach and field applicability of the modules. It drew on experiences from states and UTs and field realities to support their finalisation and effective rollout under JJM 2.0.

Additional Secretary and Mission Director, National Jal Jeevan Mission, Kamal Kishore Soan, highlighted the enhanced focus on capacity-building under JJM 2.0 to strengthen the long-term sustainability of rural drinking water services.

He said sustainable service delivery extends beyond infrastructure creation and underlined the need to empower gram panchayats and local stakeholders with the knowledge, skills and institutional support needed to manage village water supply systems effectively.

Soan stressed the importance of clearly defined roles, Jan Bhagidari and a robust technical support ecosystem to ensure regular, safe and reliable drinking water supply for rural households.

Joint Secretary Swati Meena Naik underscored the need for practical and application-oriented capacity-building covering source sustainability, water quality, operation and maintenance, financial management and community participation.

She highlighted the importance of community ownership and said communities need to become active partners in managing and sustaining local water resources.

Naik also emphasised the vision of digital transformation under JJM 2.0, stressing the need for a connected digital ecosystem to support task tracking, monitoring and accountability.

Participants were briefed on eight training and capacity-building modules developed by the National Jal Jeevan Mission.

A major component of the workshop was a group-based consultation in which participants reviewed the modules and suggested improvements to enhance their relevance, practicality and scalability.

The stakeholders also identified emerging capacity-building needs and developed recommendations for strengthening training frameworks under JJM 2.0.