Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared news about three milestones that the country has achieved while addressing Har Ghar Jal Utsav in Goa on Friday (19 August).

"First, today 10 crore rural households across the nation have access to clean water though taps. Second, Goa has become the first state to be 'Har Ghar Jal' certified. Union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu too have received this certification," he said.

The third news is related to Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. While reiterating the fact that the country became Open Defecation Free (ODF) a few years ago, Modi informed that now more than 1 lakh villages are now ODF+ certified.

While saying that it takes more efforts to make a country than making a government, Modi highlighted his government's efforts for water security. Apart from rain water harvesting schemes and Atal Bhujal yojana, the country now has 75 Ramsar sites.

Modi called Ramsar sites "Amrit Sarovar" which are basically wetlands. He informed that of these 75 sites, 50 have been added in the past eight years. He also highlighted efforts towards linking rivers and Jal Jeevan mission.

Prime Minister informed that within three years of Jal Jeevan mission, 7 crore rural households got tap water connection. Whereas, in 70 years since independence, only 3 crore rural households had tap water connection, he said.

"16 crore rural households relied on external sources for water. We could not leave them struggling for this basic amenity. Hence, I announced Jal Jeevan mission on independence day three years ago," he added.

Modi informed that a total of Rs 3.6 lakh crore is being spent on the scheme and the progress did not slow down despite Covid pandemic. He added that this scheme is in line with Gandhi's vision of 'Gram Swaraj'.

Prime Minister said that it is not just a government scheme but it is a programme by community for community. He highlighted four pillars on which the success of the mission stands- people's participation, partnership of stakeholders, political will and optimum utilisation of resources.

Modi said that tribal areas were prioritised in this mission and the success could be achieved by coordination among various ministries and with the help of some NGOs.

He also highlighted that MNREGA scheme was utilised to undertake construction works and the Jal Jeevan scheme enhanced employment opportunities as well.

While pointing towards the technologies involved in the scheme, Modi informed that new sources of water, tanks, water treatment plants and pump houses are being geotagged, so that they can be monitored by use of modern tech like IoT (Internet of Things) solutions.