Shillong: Meghalaya has identified 785 critical water sources for rejuvenation and mapped about 55,000 springs across more than 70,000 springsheds, the public health engineering department said.The department said it is also advancing a Payment for Ecosystem Services model to incentivise communities to protect water sources and forest ecosystems.“Under initiatives such as Meg ARISE, vulnerable catchments across 180 villages are being restored to strengthen climate-resilient water sources,” the PHE department said in a statement.The department said community participation remains a key pillar of Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0, particularly for ensuring the long-term sustainability of water sources. It said it is strengthening the role of Village Water and Sanitation Committees in scheme management and source protection, in line with Union ministry of Jal Shakti guidelines.Meghalaya’s “Catchment-to-Tap” approach continues to underpin its water security strategy, the department said.So far, 31,829 women have been trained across villages to conduct water-quality testing using field test kits, while laboratory and field-level testing is continuing across the state.“With a growing emphasis on service delivery, accountability, community ownership and source sustainability, Meghalaya is positioning Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 as a model for resilient rural water supply,” the PHE department said.The department said it is strengthening the implementation of JJM 2.0 across the state, with a renewed focus on ensuring reliable water supply from completed schemes, improving data and digital monitoring, strengthening operation and maintenance, enhancing water-quality monitoring and promoting community-led water-source sustainability.According to the statement, Meghalaya’s rural household tap-water coverage has increased from 4,550 households, or 1%, in August 2019 to 547,869 households, or 84%, as of Sept 6, 2026, against a total of 650,854 rural households.The state currently has 7,795 JJM schemes, of which 6,195 have been physically completed, the department said.“As the Mission enters into its next phase, the department is placing greater emphasis on the functionality of completed schemes and ensuring that infrastructure created under JJM translates into regular, adequate and safe drinking water supply at the household level,” the statement said.The department said it is using digital systems and asset mapping to improve data accuracy, strengthen reporting and enable faster resolution of field-level issues.
