The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) Assam has signed an MoU with Abhijit Mukherjee Research Group (AMRG), IIT Kharagpur, to address groundwater challenges in the state and come up with a "data-driven policy guidance" to enhance groundwater governance and "sustainable drinking water delivery".

The JJM, a flagship programme of the central government, was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15, 2019, with the objective of providing every rural household with tap water by 2024. The deadline has been extended to 2028 in Assam because only 17,315 schemes out of 27,931 were completed by March this year and also for quality assessment of the ongoing schemes.

Recognising the urgent need for intervention, the collaboration between the JJM and the AMRG aims to bring advanced expertise and tools to address key groundwater challenges.

The MoU signing ceremony took place in Guwahati on Monday.

According to an official notice, over 90 per cent of the public water supply schemes (PWSS) implemented under JJM Assam are dependent on groundwater-based sources and in several regions — particularly the Brahmaputra floodplain — arsenic contamination poses a growing challenge in delivering safe drinking water.

The MoU focuses on the following core areas, including aquifer mapping utilising JJM Assam’s extensive lithological data to create detailed aquifer maps for identifying safe and reliable groundwater sources.

The tie-up will also go for hydrogeological and geochemical assessments by conducting scientific studies to understand the hydrogeological behavior and geochemical composition of aquifers, ensuring safe and sustainable groundwater use.