In a significant step towards women empowerment and rural development, the Uttarakhand government is preparing to launch the ‘Jal Sakhi’ scheme. Under this initiative, the responsibility of drinking water supply in rural areas will be handed over to women’s Self Help Groups (SHGs). These women, designated as “Jal Sakhis”, will manage tasks such as water supply, bill distribution, payment collection, and maintenance of water schemes.
The initiative follows the success of the “Lakhpati Didi Yojana” launched in 2022 on the initiative of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. As of now, over 1.63 lakh women have become Lakhpati Didis. The new Jal Sakhi scheme aims to further strengthen livelihood opportunities for rural women.
Women SHGs will also be provided with water testing kits to ensure the quality of drinking water and will be responsible for reporting faults or issues in water supply to the concerned department. Selected SHGs will be trained as ‘Nal Jal Mitras’ to professionally manage their responsibilities.
As part of the pilot project, each SHG will receive an incentive of ₹10 per bill collected. The move is expected to generate local employment for women and improve efficiency in rural water management.
