Parliament Question: Community participation and local governance under JSA and JJM

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *21 ANSWERED ON 02.02.2026 COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE UNDER JSA AND JJM *21. Smt. REKHA SHARMA: Will the Minister of Jal Shakti be pleased to state: (a) the manner in which community participation is being institutionalized under Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) and Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM); (b) the role of Panchayats, women Self-help Groups and local water committees in planning and implementation; (c) whether capacity-building and training are being provided to local stakeholders; and (d) the impact of community-led water management on long-term water sustainability? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF JAL SHAKTI (SHRI C R PAATIL) (a) to (d) : A statement is laid on the Table of the House. 1STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF STARRED QUESTION NO. *21 TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.02.2026 IN RAJYA SABHA REGARDING “COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE UNDER JSA AND JJM” (a) to (d) The Ministry of Jal Shakti launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) in 2019 as a time-bound, mission-mode water conservation campaign in 256 water- stressed districts of the country. The Hon'ble Prime Minister launched “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain” (JSA: CTR) in 2021 with the tagline “Catch the Rain – Where it Falls When it Falls”. The JSA: CTR 2025 was launched with the theme “Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari: Jan Jagrukta Ki Or” emphasizing community participation and water conservation awareness. The Government has implemented extensive measures to promote the JSA: CTR campaign in partnership with State Governments and district authorities to encourage active community participation for maximum impact. The Abhiyan emphasizes Jan Bhagidari by involving local communities in identification, execution and maintenance of water conservation works. To further strengthen the momentum of Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain, the “Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB)” initiative with intensified community partnership, was launched in Surat, Gujarat on September 2024. The key objective of the JSJB initiative is to conserve every drop of water through collective efforts, adopting a whole-of society and whole-of-government approach. By fostering community ownership, the initiative seeks to develop cost-effective, local solutions at the micro level for water conservation and ground water recharge. The JSJB initiative is guided by the 3Cs principle—Community, CSR and Cost, ensuring effective convergence and maximized outcomes. The Government promotes the JSJB initiative in partnership with State Governments and local authorities to ensure its widespread reach and awareness. The initiative aims at forging partnership with stakeholders such as NGOs, Trusts, Civil Societies and educational institutions to engage the broader community effectively. Under JSA: CTR and JSJB, Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) play a central role in mobilising communities, facilitating local-level planning and ensuring participatory implementation and monitoring of water conservation works. Women Self Help Groups (SHGs), youth, students and local community groups are actively involved in awareness generation, behaviour change communication and social mobilization, thereby strengthening grassroots participation and ownership. Capacity building and sensitisation of local stakeholders form an integral part of JSA: CTR and JSJB. Review and coordination meetings are held with Central Nodal Officers (CNOs) and District Magistrates, supported by structured guidelines and checklists, to strengthen the water conservation works, implementation and monitoring. IEC activities, community meetings and field interactions are undertaken to enhance awareness, technical understanding and participatory implementation at the grassroots level. Since August 2019, Government of India in partnership with State Governments is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)- Har Ghar Jal. Since its launch, the JJM, is implemented as a decentralized, demand- 2driven and community-managed programme, wherein the Gram Panchayat and/ or its sub-committee/ user group i.e. Village Water & Sanitation Committee (VWSC)/ Pani Samiti are empowered to plan, implement, manage, operate and maintain in-village water supply system to provide regular and assured tap water supply in rural households. Under JJM, NGOs/ Community Based Organizations (CBOs)/ Self Help Groups (SHGs)/ Voluntary Organizations (VOs), etc. are empaneled as Implementation Support Agencies (ISAs) to handhold and train VWSCs/ Pani Samitis in planning, mobilizing and engaging communities, disseminating information and encouraging women participation for ensuring long-term operation & maintenance of the water supply infrastructure. Moreover, under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), with a view to enable the local village community to play their role in planning, implementation and to shoulder the responsibility of operation and maintenance, Nal Jal Mitra Programme (NJMP) has been launched in collaboration with Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. As a result of consistent and cumulative efforts including community participation, the data indicates that the overall ground water situation in the country is showing steady improvement. As per the dynamic ground water resource assessment data of Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), total annual ground water recharge in the country has increased from 432 BCM (Billion Cubic Meters) to 448.52 BCM between 2017 to 2025. As reported by States/UTs, under the Jal Jeevan Mission (Har Ghar Jal), more than 15.79 crore rural households have been provided with tap water supply in their homes as on 26.01.2026. ***** 3