The Jal Jeevan Mission, as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is yielding multiple benefits, including improved health and employment opportunities. A study conducted by IIM-Bangalore in collaboration with the International Labour Organization reveals that the mission has the potential to create a substantial 2.82 crore person-years of employment.
This includes around 59.93 lakh person-years of direct employment during the mission's construction phase, and a significant 2.22 crore person-years of indirect employment through the production of materials like pipes, valves, and pumps. Notably, about 40% of direct employment is expected to involve roles such as engineers, managers, plumbers, electricians, and chemists. Furthermore, an estimated 11.84 lakh person-years of direct employment can be generated annually during the Operations & Maintenance phase.
The report by the Centre for Public Policy at IIIM-B assesses the employment possibilities of the Jal Jeevan Mission. It highlights the potential for job creation at various phases, encompassing direct employment in construction, related roles in transportation, and sustained involvement in operating and maintaining the water supply infrastructure. The mission's investment leads to the development of public assets, resulting in both immediate and subsequent employment effects, including direct, indirect, and induced employment. This encompasses jobs during construction, material production, transportation, and ongoing usage of the infrastructure.
The study employed both macro and micro approaches to examine the employment effects of investment in different industries and states. The macro approach used an input-output model to estimate employment impact within industries, while the micro approach used sample data from completed JJM schemes to assess direct employment during project phases. The Jal Jeevan Mission, launched in 2019, aims to provide tap water to rural households, and its coverage has significantly increased in just 4 years. The Mission has also successfully addressed clean drinking water issues in areas affected by Arsenic and Fluoride.
Recent reports in the series of findings on the impact of India's Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) highlight its significant contributions. Nobel laureate Prof. Michael Kemer's research indicates that ensuring clean drinking water availability could prevent around 136,000 child deaths and reduce child mortality rates by one-third.
The World Health Organization (WHO) underscores that achieving complete tap water coverage under JJM could avert over 400,000 deaths due to diarrheal diseases, leading to substantial economic savings and time conservation, especially benefiting women. Aligned with the Prime Minister's vision, JJM is not only improving rural living standards with household tap water provision but also fostering health, economic opportunities, and employment, thereby promoting overall economic growth.
