The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti organised the 13th District Collectors’ Peyjal Samvad, a peer-learning platform that brought together district administrators and senior officials across states to discuss challenges and successful practices in delivering rural drinking water. The meeting, held through video conference, focused on strengthening implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0, which aims to ensure piped water supply to every rural household.
District administrators from Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Jharkhand presented their experiences managing drinking water schemes, from commissioning infrastructure to ensuring long-term community participation and financial sustainability.
Key facts
- 13th edition of District Collectors’ Peyjal Samvad convened through video conference
- Five districts presented best practices: Kanpur Nagar (UP), West Tripura, Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu), Bargarh (Odisha) and Palamu (Jharkhand)
- Meeting chaired by Ashok K.K. Meena, Secretary, DDWS
- Focus areas: community ownership, source sustainability, water quality, energy efficiency and grassroots institution strengthening
- Emphasis on regular District Water and Sanitation Mission meetings and monthly data uploads to monitoring portals
- Decision Support System (DSS) platform promoted for data-driven planning in water-stressed areas
What district leaders were urged to prioritise
The Secretary directed all district administrations to establish stronger institutional mechanisms for monitoring rural water supply. This includes holding monthly meetings of District Water and Sanitation Missions and uploading meeting minutes on the DWSM Portal to ensure transparency and accountability. Districts were asked to regularly review functionality assessment reports to identify where water supply schemes are not working properly.
A major concern raised was the reliability of water supply. Many rural areas face disruptions due to water quality issues and power cuts affecting pumping. The Secretary called on states and districts to explore solarisation of rural water schemes to improve reliability and reduce operational costs. Districts should also use the Decision Support System, a digital platform integrating groundwater, rainfall and Jal Jeevan Mission data, to identify water-stressed areas and plan sustainable interventions.
Community institutions and capacity building
Officials stressed that long-term sustainability of rural water systems depends on strengthening grassroots institutions. Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSCs), Gram Panchayats, Panchayat Secretaries and community groups known as Sujalam Shakti Groups need systematic training in operating and maintaining drinking water infrastructure after handover. Districts were encouraged to organise exposure visits for school students to water treatment facilities and SCADA-enabled systems so young people understand water infrastructure and conservation.
Innovations shared by performing districts
Kanpur Nagar, Uttar Pradesh has strengthened service delivery through regular inter-departmental coordination and community engagement. The district trains women volunteers in water quality testing using field kits, conducts regular laboratory tests, and uses SCADA systems for real-time monitoring. A digital grievance redressal platform and the Jal Saarthi mobile application help citizens report issues. The district has also created GIS maps of drinking water assets for better planning.
West Tripura emphasises community ownership by involving Gram Panchayats and Self-Help Groups in decision-making. The district improved user-charge collection and trained local institutions on operation and maintenance. To address water scarcity, it focuses on source sustainability through catchment protection, afforestation, rooftop rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge. Village Water Security Plans guide long-term planning.
Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu introduced village-level water budgeting to assess current and future water demand and identify groundwater stress areas. Using IoT technology, the district monitors water supply in real time through digital dashboards that track losses. Low-cost water disinfection systems strengthen quality. The district has also invested in groundwater recharge, rainwater harvesting and micro-irrigation to build long-term water security.
Bargarh, Odisha structured project implementation into three phases: execution, commissioning and operation-maintenance. Strong coordination between departments resolved issues with land clearance, power supply and forest permissions. The district established monthly reviews and community participation during project commissioning. It has achieved reliable 24-hour water supply through large multi-village schemes, including serving IIM Sambalpur.
Palamu, Jharkhand operates a dedicated district control room to monitor functionality of water schemes and a structured grievance redressal system. It used convergence with MGNREGA to finance groundwater recharge and rainwater harvesting. IoT-enabled monitoring supports real-time supervision, and community health workers conduct water quality checks. A user-charge collection campaign strengthens financial sustainability.
Integration with other government schemes
Districts were advised to leverage convergence opportunities under VB-G RAM G and other rural development programmes to undertake groundwater recharge, source protection and water conservation in vulnerable areas. This integration ensures that drinking water sustainability is built into broader rural development efforts.
What this means for you
Citizens in rural areas depend on the capacity and accountability of local district administrations to deliver reliable, safe drinking water. These meetings help spread successful practices. If your district adopts technologies like IoT monitoring or community-based water quality surveillance shown by performing districts, water supply reliability may improve. Participation in Village Water and Sanitation Committees gives villagers a voice in managing local water assets.