Parliament Question: Delay in release of Jal Jeevan Mission funds

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO – 247 ANSWERED ON 02/02/2026 DELAY IN RELEASE OF JAL JEEVAN MISSION FUNDS 247. SMT. RAJATHI: Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state: (a) details of funds sanctioned and released under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) State-wise since inception of the scheme; (b) the reasons for delay in transfer of the Central funds to the State Governments including in the State of Tamil Nadu; (c) the details of the pending funds from the Central Government State-wise since 2020; (d) whether any study has assessed the impact of the JJM on the lives of rural women; and (e) the implementation challenges in rural and remote areas and the measures taken to address these challenges? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI V. SOMANNA) (a) to (c) Since August 2019, the Government of India is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) – Har Ghar Jal, in partnership with States/ UTs, to make provision of tap water connection to every rural household of the country. ‘Water’ being a state subject, the responsibility of planning, approval, implementation, operation, and maintenance of drinking water supply schemes/ works, including those under JJM, lies with State/UT Governments. The Government of India supports the states by providing technical and financial assistance. In August 2019, the Union Cabinet had approved the implementation of JJM with central outlay of Rs. 2,08, 652 crores. Against the allocated fund, almost entire fund has been utilized. The State/UT-wise details of funds drawn, reported utilization of central and state share under JJM is available in public domain and is accessible through JJM dashboard at: https://ejalshakti.gov.in/jjmreport/JJMIndia.aspx (d) With the prioritized implementation of the JJM across the country, positive impacts on the lives of rural women have been assessed by reputed national and international institutions, as mentioned below: i. SBI Research has reported that JJM - Har Ghar Jal has initiated a revolution with an estimated decline in 9 crore female population fetching water from outside premise Page 1 of 2resulting in significant increase in women participation in agricultural & allied activities at all-India level. ii. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that achieving saturation under JJM will result in savings of more than 5.5 Crore hours of time every day, which is otherwise spent in collection of water for household needs, primarily for women. (e) 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, delay in obtaining statutory/ other clearances, etc. are few of problems faced in the implementation of the mission. To address these challenges holistically and overcome these, the 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. 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 VB-G RAM G, Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), Finance Commission tied grants to RLBs/ PRIs, State schemes, CSR funds, etc. ***** Page 2 of 2