Problem / Objective

The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), a flagship programme of the Centre, aims to provide assured piped drinking water to every rural household across the country by 2024. Adding a new dimension to it, the Union Jal Shakti Ministry has introduced sensor-based Internet of Things (IoT) devices to monitor the implementation of this programme in more than six lakh villages.

Solution / Approach

The Jal Jeevan Mission, in collaboration with Tata Community Initiatives Trust (TCIT) and Tata Trusts, recently completed pilot projects in several remote villages of five States, namely Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra. The pilots went live in September 2020. These pilots were spread across diverse agro-climatic conditions - including areas in the western Himalayas, desert regions to Gangetic plains (spanning extreme cold of -100C to severe heat of 480C). They cover different types of sources including groundwater based borewells, springs in hilly areas, and surface water (river and dams). A key feature of these pilots has been the use of frugal yet sturdy sensors, which makes the solution scalable and sustainable. Several types of sensors have been deployed, including flow meters, groundwater level sensors, chlorine analysers, pressure sensors, pump controller to measure all the relevant aspects of water service delivery – quantity, duration, quality, pressure, and sustainability – in addition to providing operational efficiencies.

Impact / Implementation

This approach would not only allow effective monitoring and management on-ground with a futuristic vision to ensure regular tap water to every home, but real-time measurement and monitoring is also critical for rural drinking water supply schemes, with enormous gains in terms of operational efficiencies, cost reduction, grievance redressal. One of the key challenges posed to the team was to develop a robust solution at a fraction of the water infrastructure costs without compromising on quality or functionality. The pilots have led to several outcomes as it has helped identify distribution issues – such as outages, leakages, low pressure, etc. and led to resolution across sites. Several states, including Gujarat, Bihar, Haryana, and Arunachal Pradesh, have already rolled out tenders for IoT-based remote monitoring systems ranging from 500 villages to several districts. Further, states like Sikkim, Manipur, Goa, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand have started the process to roll out this technology.

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