The Jal Jeevan mission plans to deploy Internet-connected sensors in all villages to remotely monitor the duration, quantity, quality, pressure and sustainability of water supply in real time.
A pilot project was recently completed in remote villages in five States in collaboration with Tata Trusts and Tata Community Initiatives Trust, according to a statement from the Jal Shakti Ministry. They were given the challenge of developing a solution which would cost less than 15% of the scheme’s total capital expenditure budget without compromising on quality or functionality. The Ministry said it expected costs to reduce further when manufacturing at scale began.
“Several types of sensors have been deployed, including flow meters, ground water level sensors, chlorine analysers, pressure sensors, pump controller etc., to measure all the relevant aspects of water service delivery — quantity, duration, quality, pressure, and sustainability — in addition to providing operational efficiencies,” said the statement. The information gathered by the sensors will feed into a cloud-based analytical platform integrated with a GIS (Geographical Information System) to provide robust decision-making support to officials as well as local villagers.
For example, a sensor alerted one community to fast depleting groundwater levels, leading villagers to build a source strengthening structure to recharge their borewell. Elsewhere, the sensors led to leak detection, predictive maintenance, timely disinfection and more efficient and responsible use of water by the community. Each village installs a small TV screen with a visual dashboard in local languages which can be monitored by the Pani Samitis.
Customising the Internet of Things devices for rural India is critical, considering the lack of Wi-Fi broadband, cellular connectivity and even electricity in parts of rural India, said the Ministry. One of the pilot projects in Rajasthan’s Sirohi district involved a first-of-its kind system to remotely monitor and control water supply from the source to the tap using completely off-grid power sources of solar and battery power.
The pilots in Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Himachal Pradesh went live in September 2020. Now, Gujarat, Bihar, Haryana, and Arunachal Pradesh have rolled out tenders for IoT-based remote monitoring systems ranging from 500 villages to several districts, while Sikkim, Manipur, Goa, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand have started the process to roll out this technology as well, said the Ministry.
