In a major push to deliver sustainable drinking water and world-class sanitation to every rural household, the 19th Steering Committee meeting of the Odisha Water and Sanitation Mission (OWSM) was held yesterday under the chairpersonship of Chief Secretary Anu Garg.
The high-level meeting, which also functioned as the State Apex Committee for Jal Jeevan Mission, reviewed the impressive on-ground progress of multiple water supply projects and deliberated on bold reform measures to strengthen Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0.
Senior officials, including Development Commissioner & Additional Chief Secretary Deoranjan Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary Water Resources Shubha Sarma, and Commissioner-cum-Secretary Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water Girish S.N., participated in the deliberations.
Presenting the latest updates, Director Drinking Water & Sanitation Vineet Bharadwaj highlighted that out of 207 mega pipe water supply projects, 42 have been fully completed while 44 more have their intake structures and water treatment plants ready, enabling partial or complete water supply in several areas.
Strict monitoring has been put in place to fast-track the remaining projects. In the small drinking water projects segment, 18,737 out of 19,086 schemes stand completed, with the balance targeted for completion by October 2026. Similarly, 6,637 out of 8,863 solar-powered projects have been finished, with the rest scheduled for completion by November 2026.
Under the flagship Har Ghar Jal initiative, drinking water connections have reached 16,724 villages, of which 12,484 villages have already been certified. The remaining villages are expected to be covered by October this year. The committee placed special emphasis on long-term sustainability through a strengthened Operation & Maintenance policy, citizen-centric water quality monitoring, source sustainability measures, and greater community participation.
A key highlight was the rapid rollout of the Sujalam Bharat digital platform. More than 94,000 Sujalam village IDs have already been created. Geo-tagging of assets, the project monitoring module, and the Command & Control Centre are scheduled for completion by December 2026. The meeting also discussed capacity building of field staff, human resource planning, financial sustainability, and adoption of innovative practices.
On the sanitation front, the state continues to excel under Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin). Over 96% of villages have been declared ODF Plus Model villages, with focused attention now shifting to scientific solid and liquid waste management.
The meeting reaffirmed Odisha’s strong commitment to ensuring safe, reliable, and sustainable drinking water for every rural household while maintaining high standards of cleanliness and hygiene.
