Summary of this article
Operation and Maintenance (O&M) policy under the Jal Jeevan Mission to strengthen rural drinking water supply through a decentralised and community-managed approach.
Village committees to lead management: Village Water and Sewerage Committees (VWSCs) will be established under gram panchayats to manage water supply systems through a government–community partnership model.
Technical support from PHED: The Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) will provide technical assistance, training, and oversight to ensure sustainable infrastructure maintenance, better service delivery, and transparency in local water management.
Chandigarh, Mar 24 (PTI) In keeping with the aims of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) which emphasises a community-managed approach, the Haryana Cabinet on Tuesday approved a decentralised, participatory, and sustainable model for rural drinking water supply.
A cabinet meeting chaired by Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini here approved an operation and maintenance (O&M) policy for supply of potable water to rural belts statewide, an official statement said. The statement said a cornerstone of the new O&M policy is to establish and empower Village Water and Sewerage Committees (VWSC) under gram panchayats, through a government-community partnership (GCP) model.
The Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) will provide technical support, hand-holding and capacity building to these committees. The partnership aims to ensure sustainable operation and maintenance of water supply infrastructure, timely resolution of service issues, improved service delivery, besides accountability and transparency in local water management, the statement said.
The policy also includes capacity building of the community for water testing, record keeping, O&M practices and maintaining accurate consumer data through the BISWAS billing software, operated by self-help group members.
There are 6,721 villages in Haryana. Out of these, 4,583 are under single panchayats, while 2,138 fall under multiple panchayats and Mahagram villages.
A memorandum of understanding as a tripartite agreement shall be signed between the gram panchayat, VWSC and the PHED to roll out the new O&M policy in each panchayat, the statement said.
The implementation of this scheme will begin from April 1, 2026, in single panchayat villages and from April 1, 2027, in the multiple panchayat and Mahagram villages, it added. PTI SUN ARB ARB
