New Delhi : Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation (DDWS) runs two flagship programs to cater to the water and sanitation needs of the country i.e., Swachh Bharat Mission- Grameen (SBM-G) and Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). While SBM(G) aims to make rural India ODF plus by providing complete sanitation, JJM aims to supply every household with quality tap water supply. One of the monitoring & evaluation mechanisms under both SBM(G) and JJM are the assessment surveys i.e., Swachh Survekshan Grameen (SSG) and Jal Jeevan Survekshan (JJS), which rank the states, UTs and their districts based on their performance on SBM(G) and JJM program components.
JJM was launched on 15th August 2019 from the ramparts of the Red Fort by the Hon’ble Prime Minister to provide clean drinking tap water in every rural household of the country. At the time of launch of the Mission only 3.23 Crore i.e. 17% had access to tap water connection. Continuous effort even during disruptions has brought about a welcome change. Today, over 10.56 Crore rural households (54.58%) are getting tap water.
Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBM-G) is now in its Phase II. In its first phase, SBM(G) successfully declared rural India Open Defecation Free (ODF) in 2019, bringing the toilet coverage from 39% in 2014 to 100% in 2019. In its second phase launched in 2020, SBM(G) aims to make rural India ODF plus by moving from just access to toilets to complete sanitation comprising management of solid and liquid waste. As on date 1.27 lakh villages are ODF plus.
Jal Jeevan Survekshan 2023 is started by the DDWS as part of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), to encourage healthy competition among States/ UTs. Jal Jeevan Survekshan Tool Kit was released by the Hon’ble Vice President of India Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar on 21st October 2022. The purpose of Jal Jeevan Survekshan 2023, is to incentivize States/ Districts functionaries to strive for better performances and improved water service delivery in rural areas. The districts are categorized under five heads based on the proportion of household with functional tap connection reported on JJM-IMIS as on 1st October 2022. The category for household coverage is Aspirants – 0 to less than 25%, Performers – 25 to less than 50%, Achievers – 50 to less than 75%, High Achievers – 75 to less than 100%, then Front Runners – 100%.
The States/ UTs will be felicitated monthly, quarterly and annually based on their performance. For the first time, monthly awards were announced on 21st November 2022 by the Secretary DDWS, Smt. Vini Mahajan. The list of awardees is asunder:
| Category | Rank | District |
| Best Performing District | ||
| Front Runners (100% coverage) | 1st Rank | Ambala, Haryana |
| 2nd Rank | Rohtak, Haryana | |
| 3rd Rank | Faridabad, Haryana | |
| High Achievers (75% to 100% coverage) | 1st Rank | Kolasib, Mizoram |
| 2nd Rank | Serchhip, Mizoram | |
| 3rd Rank | Ranipet, Tamil Nadu | |
| Achievers (50% to 75% coverage) | 1st Rank | Champhai, Mizoram |
| 2nd Rank | Mamit, Mizoram | |
| 3rd Rank | Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu | |
| Performers (25% to 50% coverage) | 1st Rank | Kallakurichi, Tamil Nadu |
| 2nd Rank | East Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya | |
| 3rd Rank | Mon, Nagaland | |
| Aspirants (0% to 25% coverage) | 1st Rank | Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh |
| 2nd Rank | Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh | |
| 3rd Rank | Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh | |
| Fastest Moving District | ||
| Achievers | 1st Rank | Leh, Ladakh |
| 2nd Rank | Kargil, Ladakh | |
| 3rd Rank | Gangtok, Sikkim | |
| Performers | 1st Rank | Mon, Nagaland |
| 2nd Rank | East Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya | |
| 3rd Rank | Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh | |
| Aspirants | 1st Rank | Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh |
| 2nd Rank | Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh | |
| 3rd Rank | Bullandshahr, Uttar Pradesh | |
| Graduating Districts | ||
| Graduating to High Achievers | Namakkal, Tamil Nadu | |
| Kodagu, Karnataka | ||
| Chamaranjanajra, Karnataka | ||
| West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh | ||
| Ananthapuramu, Andhra Pradesh | ||
| Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand | ||
| Graduating to Achievers | Raipur, Chhattisgarh | |
| Hardwar, Uttarakhand | ||
| Umaria, Madhya Pradesh | ||
| Chitradurga, Karnataka | ||
| Graduating to Performers | Bullandhshahr, Uttar Pradesh | |
| Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh | ||
| Udalguri, Assam | ||
| Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh | ||
| Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh | ||
| Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh | ||
| Tonk, Rajasthan | ||
DDWS has also been conducting Swachh Survekshan Grameen (SSG) since 2018 under Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBM-G). This survey ranks the States and Districts basis their performance attained on key quantitative and qualitative SBM(G) parameters as well as engaging rural community in improvement of their sanitation status through an intensive and holistic IEC campaign. DDWS intends to undertake SSG 2023, which envisages to further intensify the SSG campaign, and make it much more participative and competitive in design. The main objectives of SSG 2023 include generating wide participation at village, GP, District and State levels; creating enthusiasm around SBM(G) Phase II and the ODF Plus initiative; deploying systems and processes for creating awareness among community about components of an ODF Plus Model village; participatory assessment and learning through peer verification; fostering healthy competition among Panchayats, Districts, States for better performance; and rewards, awards and recognition of top performers at National, State and District level. The SSG 2023 toolkit and SSG 2023 dashboard were launched by Hon’ble Minister of Jal Shakti on 2nd November at the Rural WASH Partner’s Forum session at the India Water Week.
Based on the ODF Plus progress of villages as reported by districts in SBM(G)-IMIS on 1st October 2022, baseline ODF+ scores of districts were generated and accordingly districts were categorized from 1 star upto 5 star as per their score as shown in table below:
| SCORE | STAR |
| 0 (zero) | No star |
| 0< score <25 | |
| 25 ≤ score <50 | |
| 50 ≤ score <75 | |
| 75 ≤ score <100 | |
| Score = 100 |
Based on the delta achievement scores of districts calculated based on their progress from 1st October till 1st November 2022, the first monthly rankings for SSG 2023 were released and shared with States/Districts. The top performing districts were announced and felicitated at the conference.
The list of top performers (Oct 1 – Nov 1) is as under:
| State Name | District Name | Category | Rankings |
| A & N Islands | South Andamans | 5 star | – |
| Nicobars | 5 star | – | |
| North And Middle Andaman | 5 star | – | |
| D & N Haveli and
Daman & Diu |
Diu | 5 star | – |
| D & N Haveli and
Daman & Diu |
Daman | 4 star | 1 |
| Nagaland | Longleng | 3 star | 1 |
| Madhya Pradesh | Burhanpur | 3 star | 2 |
| Himachal Pradesh | Hamirpur | 3 star | 3 |
| Kerala | Kollam | 2 star | 1 |
| Madhya Pradesh | Jhabua | 2 star | 2 |
| Madhya Pradesh | Anuppur | 2 star | 3 |
| Assam | Majuli | 1 star | 1 |
| Karnataka | Ramanagara | 1 star | 2 |
| Karnataka | Chikkamagaluru | 1 star | 3 |
The districts which improved their performance and graduated to next star category (Oct 1 – Nov 1) is as under:
| State Name | District Name | Graduated to Star Category |
| Assam | MAJULI | 2 star |
| Karnataka | RAMANAGARA | 2 star |
| Karnataka | CHIKKAMAGALURU | 2 star |
| Madhya Pradesh | SHAJAPUR | 2 star |
| DAMOH | 2 star | |
| UJJAIN | 2 star | |
| BALAGHAT | 2 star | |
| RATLAM | 2 star | |
| SINGRAULI | 2 star | |
| DINDORI | 2 star | |
| MANDLA | 2 star | |
| Assam | BISWANATH | 1 star |
The virtual conference was attended by Shri Sunil Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR), Shri Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Principal Secretaries and Mission Directors and District Collectors/ District Magistrates.
Smt. Vini Mahajan, Secretary DDWS, while speaking on the occasion said, “We need to focus and work towards sustainability of water source. Communities have to take ownership of the water supply structures so that continuous supply of drinking water is ensured.” About the SSG 2023, Ms. Mahajan applauded the top performers and encouraged the others to start their SSG 2023 preparations. She said “SSG is not just a ranking exercise but also a vehicle for ensuring prompt action for achievement of SBM(G) 2.0 programme elements.” Secretary, DDWS added that the new and critical feature i.e. self-assessment by Panchayats on ODF Plus progress for all its villages, as part of SSG 2023 will not only enhance participation from community/panchayats but at the same time also act as a tool to build capacities of Panchayats on ODF Plus verticals.
Shri Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development spoke on the role played by Self Help Groups (SHGs) as they are partners in progress. They help in programme implementation and provide support whenever required.
Shri Sunil Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, applauded the efforts of Ministry of Jal Shakti for creating healthy competition among the districts which will improve the performance and nudge them for further action leading to safe drinking water & sanitation services for all.
It is hoped that both Jal Jeevan Survekshan and SSG 2023 will encourage States/ UTs to perform better with every passing month and help in faster coverage and better service delivery.
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