The study on ‘Assessment of Employment Potential of Jal Jeevan Mission’, undertaken by Centre for Public Policy under Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B) with technical support from International Labour Organization (ILO) Delhi, was released at CSOI, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi. The objectives of the study were to estimate the total direct and indirect employment generated in the construction phase, and estimate the direct employment generated in the operation & maintenance phase. The study has assessed and quantified the huge employment generation potential of Jal Jeevan Mission, which aims to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections to all rural households in India. The JJM employment generation potential in the construction phase is assessed at 2.8 crore person-years and 11.8 lakh person-years annually for operation & maintenance. Click here to read more about the IIM-B report: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1947541

Addressing the gathering, Secretary, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ms. Vini Mahajan said “provisioning tap water connection in rural households is improving the family income and providing employment opportunities for men and women alike”. Expressing pleasure on the findings of the study, Ms. Mahajan said that the study by IIM-B is important as it helps understand the impact of ‘Har Ghar Jal’ programme, especially on women. She said “Skilling of the existing workforce is important for the operation & maintenance of the water supply infrastructure created. The Department will very soon be coming up with a Multi Skilling course and the community will be trained to maintain the assets for long-term sustainability”.

Ms. Mahajan further said she was happy to see loss of labor time especially among women who spent 5 ½ Crore hours every single day collecting water to meet the daily needs. “Today, every second one rural household is getting a tap water connection and continuous efforts on ground has resulted in more than 12.7 Crore tap water connections as on date against 3.23 Crore at the time of launch of the Mission on 15th August 2019. The impact of safe drinking water is not just limited to employment. A recent study by WHO revealed that 4,00,000 lives will be saved with universal coverage of tap water” she added.

Mr. Satoshi Sasaki, Officer-in-Charge, International Labor Organisation, New Delhi congratulated Jal Jeevan Mission on the progress achieved in provisioning 65% tap water connections across villages. He added, “building infrastructure directly impacts employment and helps build the economy. Construction industry has a large potential to provide employment. The major industry providing direct employment is construction work which consumes both skilled and unskilled work force. The work in remote and far-flung villages is positively impacting the lives of vulnerable groups. The analysis derived from the study will feed into the drafting policies, evidence-based planning and developing strategies.”

Professor Gopal Naik, Professor, IIM-B, explained the process undertaken to analyze the data received from 10 States. A total of 917 schemes were analyzed in the 6 month-long research undertaken by the team. He acknowledged the valuable suggestions received from ILO. The study covers mainly three aspects – direct, indirect and induced employment created by Har Ghar Jal programme. Prof Naik was of the opinion that Jal Jeevan Mission is helping bridge the rural-urban divide through income generating opportunities for men, women, skilled, unskilled, one-time and long-term employment.

Shri Vikas Sheel, Additional Secretary & Mission Director, NJJM thanked IIM-B for undertaking the important study and ILO for supporting it. He thanked the dignitaries, development partners and press for taking out time to be a part of the event.

In line with the vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister to improve the ease of living for the people of India, the Jal Jeevan Mission is benefitting people in myriad ways. It is not only changing the way of life in rural India with provision of tap water at household level, but also leading to spin off benefits in terms of better health & more economic opportunities for people, especially for women. Signification generation of employment under JJM is providing further impetus to economic growth.

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AS