IAS Jasmeet Singh Sandhu belongs to the 2016 Batch Rajasthan cadre and is currently posted as district collector of Salumbar, Rajasthan. Sandhu has been recognized with awards at both state and national, the most recent being under the Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan for empowering the differently-abled community. Regarding his vision for Salumbar,it focuses on water conservation and community empowerment.

For water conservation and to achieve a water-sufficient,Catch the Rain campaign and Jal Sanchay were initiated with the goal “to ensure that every drop of rainwater is harvested and water loss is minimized,” he explained. Various structures were constructed to capture and store rainwater. “From 2022 to 2023, 1,531 water harvesting and conservation works were sanctioned, and the surplus water is now directed to Jaisamand Lake, Asia’s second-largest artificial lake, providing the district with a natural reservoir,” he noted.

Under his leadership in addition to structural measures efforts were made to raise public awareness and encourage judicious water use through Jal Shapaths “Rooftop water harvesting structures were made mandatory in urban areas, and farmers were encouraged to build farm ponds and adopt sheet-based farming to minimize water losses,” he said.

Beyond water conservation, Sandhu has also focused on empowering farmers by introducing modern agricultural practices, such as solar pumps, drip irrigation systems, and high-quality seeds. Additionally, he added, “Farmers who were pro-technology were identified, and sustained focus was placed on them to use all these yojanas to increase agricultural output and increase farmers income.”

With a holistic approach to governance, Sandhu’s efforts also extend to empowering the specially-abled. He noted, “Despite enjoying entitlements from various government departments, the specially abled have to face a lot of issues Hence it was decided to start Sambal Abhiyan” The initiative included conducting camps where doctors from different disciplines provided on-the-spot certificates. “More than 7,500 specially-abled individuals have been identified through this initiative,” he added.

Additionally, to ensure equitable access to government benefits for all citizens, a house-to-house survey was conducted to create a database, identifying which government benefits people are receiving and which they are eligible for. “Overall, 2 lakh government benefits under various schemes have been given.”

For education, Sandhu believes in embracing digitalization through smart classes. “In remote areas, where there may be a shortage of technical manpower, digital education and smart classes can go a long way in addressing this issue,” he said. So far, smart classrooms have been established in 282 schools, one of which even features a robotic classroom.