Executive Summary:
The Ministry of Jal Shakti addresses challenges under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), aimed at providing functional tap water connections to all rural households. As of July 21, 2025, 80.94% of rural households (15.67 Crore) have tap water supply. The JJM has been extended until 2028 with enhanced outlay to achieve 100% coverage. Challenges and steps taken to address them are outlined.
Key Points / Main Content:
JJM Implementation and Progress:
Since August 2019, the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) has been implemented to provide potable water to every rural household via functional tap connections.
As of 21.07.2025, 15.67 Crore (80.94%) out of 19.36 Crore rural households now have tap water supply, with 12.43 Crore connections added since the mission's start.
Strategies and Guidelines:
Joint discussions, saturation plans, and annual action plans with States/UTs are used.
Regular reviews, workshops, and field visits are conducted for capacity building and technical support.
Operational Guidelines, Margdarshika for Gram Panchayats/VWSCs, and guidelines for piped water supply in Anganwadi centers, Ashramshalas, and schools have been shared.
JJM-Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) and JJM-Dashboard are in place for online monitoring.
Public Financial Management System (PFMS) is used for transparent online financial management.
Challenges Faced:
Lack of dependable water sources in stressed areas.
Geogenic contaminants in groundwater.
Uneven terrain and scattered habitations.
Delays in State share release.
Lack of technical capacity at local levels.
Rising raw material prices.
Delays in statutory clearances.
Steps to Address Challenges:
Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure through the Ministry of Finance, offering 50-year interest-free loans.
Nodal officers are nominated for coordinating with Central Ministries/Departments for statutory clearances.
Establishment of State and District Programme Management Units (SPMUs and DPMUs).
Implementation of Nal Jal Mitra Programme to ensure skilled local personnel availability.
Promotion of source recharging methods (bore well recharge, rainwater recharge, rejuvenation of water bodies, greywater reuse) in convergence with other schemes.
Implementation of Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA): Catch the Rain (CTR) campaigns for water conservation, with specific themes each year.
Mission Extension:
The Finance Minister announced the extension of JJM until 2028 with an enhanced total outlay.
A proposal for the continuation of JJM until 2028 with enhanced total outlay is under consideration by the Government.
Impact Analysis:
States/Union Territories:
Impact: Required to actively participate in planning and implementing JJM, address water source and infrastructure challenges, and ensure long-term sustainability of water supply schemes. They also need to manage funding and coordinate with various departments for clearances.
Action Required: Implement saturation plans and annual action plans, address water source challenges, ensure timely release of State share, build technical capacity, and coordinate for statutory clearances.
Gram Panchayats/VWSCs (Village Water and Sanitation Committees):
Impact: Responsible for providing safe drinking water in rural households and managing, operating, and maintaining water supply schemes.
Action Required: Implement the Margdarshika guidelines, plan, manage, operate, and maintain water supply schemes, and ensure citizen-centric water service delivery.
Local Communities:
Impact: Benefit from access to potable water through functional tap connections, and need to participate in water conservation efforts.
Action Required: Participate in water conservation activities, engage with the Nal Jal Mitra Programme, and ensure proper usage and maintenance of water supply infrastructure.
Central Government (Ministry of Jal Shakti):
Impact: Oversees the implementation of JJM, provides financial and technical support, and monitors progress.
Action Required: Continue to provide financial and technical support, monitor progress through the JJM-IMIS and Dashboard, address challenges through various initiatives, and coordinate with other Ministries/Departments.
Key Entities Referenced
Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM): A Government of India initiative to provide functional tap water connections to all rural households.
Ministry of Jal Shakti: The Indian government ministry responsible for water resources.
Har Ghar Jal: The motto and a key component of the Jal Jeevan Mission, aiming to provide water to every household.
Gram Panchayats: Local self-government organizations at the village level in India, involved in the implementation of JJM.
Public Financial Management System (PFMS): A platform used for online financial management and transparency in the Jal Jeevan Mission.
MGNREGS: Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, a scheme converged with JJM for source recharging activities.
Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain (JSA: CTR): A campaign to encourage water conservation at the grassroots level.
Nal Jal Mitra Programme: A program for ensuring availability of skilled local persons at village level to bridge the gap in availability of technical skill sets and of HR for programme management.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI
DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 874
ANSWERED ON 24.07.2025
CHALLENGES UNDER JAL JEEVAN MISSION
874. DR. D RAVI KUMAR:
Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:
(a) the measures taken by the Government to ensure that the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)
achieves its target of providing functional tap water connections to all rural households between
the Financial Years 2019 and 2024 and the extent to which these measures have been effective;
(b) the details of the key challenges faced by the Government in the implementation of JJM
during the year 2024 including issues like funding constraints, water source sustainability,
skilled manpower shortages or State-level bottlenecks;
(c) the steps taken by the Government to address these challenges and ensure the timely
completion of JJM; and
(d) whether any revised timelines or strategies have been formulated in this regard and if so,
the details thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI
(SHRI V. SOMANNA)
(a) to (d) Since August 2019, Government of India in partnership with States is implementing
Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) – Har Ghar Jal to make provision of potable water to every rural
household of the country through functional tap water connection.
A number of steps have been taken to plan and implement JJM in the whole country with speed,
inter alia including joint discussions and finalization of saturation plans and annual action plans
(AAP) of States/ UTs, regular review of implementation, workshops/ conferences/ webinars
for capacity building, training, knowledge sharing, field visits by multi-disciplinary teams to
provide technical support, etc. A detailed Operational Guideline for the implementation of JJM;
Margdarshika for Gram Panchayats & VWSCs to provide safe drinking water in rural
households and Guidelines on a special campaign to provide piped water supply in Anganwadi
centers, Ashramshalas and schools have been shared with States/ UTs to facilitate planning and
implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission. For online monitoring, JJM–Integrated Management
Information System (IMIS) and JJM–Dashboard has been put in place. Provision has also been
made for transparent online financial management through Public Financial Management
System (PFMS).
Page 1 of 2At the start of the Mission, only 3.23 Crore (16.7%) rural households were reported to have tap
water connections. With concerted efforts from both Centre and States, under Jal Jeevan
Mission (JJM) – Har Ghar Jal around 12.43 Crore additional rural households have been
reported to have been provided with tap water connections. Thus, as on 21.07.2025, out of
19.36 Crore rural households in the country, more than 15.67 Crore (80.94%) households are
reported to have tap water supply in their homes.
To achieve 100 per cent coverage through continued implementation of mission with focus on
quality of infrastructure and Operation & Maintenance of rural piped water supply schemes for
long term sustainability and citizen centric water service delivery, Hon'ble Finance Minister
during her budget speech 2025-26 has announced extension of Jal Jeevan Mission until 2028
with enhanced total outlay. Accordingly, a proposal for continuation of Jal Jeevan Mission
until 2028 with enhanced total outlay is under consideration of the Government.
States have informed that lack of dependable drinking water sources in water-stressed, drought
prone and desert areas, presence of geo-genic contaminants in ground water, uneven
geographical terrain, scattered rural habitations, delay in release of the matching State share in
some States, lack of technical capacity with implementing agencies, Gram Panchayats and
local communities to plan, manage, operate & maintain the water supply schemes, rising price
of raw materials, delay in obtaining statutory/ other clearances, etc. are few of problems being
faced in the implementation of the Mission.
To address the challenges holistically and overcome these, Government of India has taken a
number of steps, inter alia including implementation of Special Assistance to States for Capital
Expenditure through M/o Finance for financial assistance as 50-year interest free loan for
capital investment projects; nomination of a nodal officer in the Department for coordinating
with Central nodal Ministries/ Departments/ agencies to facilitate the States in obtaining
Statutory/ other clearances; setting up of State Programme Management Units (SPMUs) and
District Programme Management Units (DPMUs) and implementation of “Nal Jal Mitra
Programme” for ensuring availability of skilled local persons at village level to bridge the gap
in availability of technical skill sets and of HR for programme management;
Under the Mission, States have been advised for source recharging, viz. dedicated bore well
recharge structures, rainwater recharge, rejuvenation of existing water bodies, reuse of
greywater, etc., in convergence with other schemes such as MGNREGS, Integrated Watershed
Management Programme (IWMP), 15th Finance Commission tied grants to RLBs/ PRIs, State
schemes, CSR funds, etc.
Further, Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain (JSA: CTR) campaign aiming to encourage water
conservation at grass-root levels with people's participation was launched in 2019 in 256 water
stressed districts of the country. Morever, recognizing the importance of sustainable water
management especially for drinking water availability, JSA-CTR was implemented with the
theme “Source Sustainability for Drinking Water” in 2023 and "Nari Shakti se Jal Shakti" in
2024. Similarly, JSA is being implemented with the theme “Peoples' Action for Water
Conservation - Towards Intensified Community Connect” emphasizing the pivotal role of
community in the field of water conservation.
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