Parliament Question: Delays in Implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER & SANITATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 810 ANSWERED ON 23/07/2026 DELAYS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF JAL JEEVAN MISSION 810. SHRI SAPTAGIRI SANKAR ULAKA: Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has assessed the delays in implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission (Har Ghar Jal) and if so, the details thereof, State-wise including the reasons for time and cost overruns; (b) whether the Government has received reports that execution of new water supply projects has led to damage to existing roads, drainage systems, pipelines and other public infrastructure without timely restoration and if so, the details thereof; (c) the number of incomplete, delayed or non-functional water supply projects under the Mission, State-wise including Odisha; (d) whether any performance audit or third-party quality assessment has been conducted to examine project execution, restoration of public assets and accountability of implementing agencies and if so, the details thereof; and (e) the measures taken to ensure timely completion of projects, restoration of damaged infrastructure, quality control and uninterrupted safe drinking water supply to rural households? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI V. SOMANNA) (a) to (c) Drinking Water is a ‘State’ subject, and hence, under JJM, the responsibility of planning, approval, implementation, operation & maintenance of drinking water supply schemes lies with State/UT Governments. The Government of India supports the States by providing technical and financial assistance. Since August 2019, Government of India, in partnership with States/ UTs, is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) – Har Ghar Jal to make provision of tap water connection to every rural household of the country. The Union Cabinet has approved extension of the JJM up to December 2028, with an enhanced outlay and a restructured implementation framework focusing on structural reforms in the rural drinking water supply sector under JJM 2.0. States/ UTs have informed that lack of dependable drinking water sources in water stressed, drought prone and desert areas, presence of geogenic 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 Page 1 of 2statutory/ other clearances, etc. are some of the challenges faced in the implementation of the mission. However, the operational guidelines for the implementation of the JJM, stipulates that time and cost overrun shall not be supported under JJM. Since water is a state subject, the responsibility of implementation, inter-alia including repairing or restoration of roads that get affected while laying water supply pipelines of rural water supply schemes taken up under JJM, lies with State/ UT Governments and the funds available under JJM may be utilized for the same. The public grievances pertaining to JJM received in Department, inter alia, including restoration of roads, are forwarded to the respective States for their expeditious redressal. Further, to avoid any hardships to the villagers, States/ UTs have been advised to take up rural water schemes in a way with minimum damages to infrastructure such as roads/ highways and to restore the roads/ highways immediately in case of damages done while laying of pipelines for water supply systems. At the start of JJM, only 3.23 crore (16.7%) rural households were reported to have tap water connections. So far, as reported by States/ UTs, more than 12.66 crore additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections under JJM. Thus, as on 15.07.2026, out of 19.36 crore rural households in the country, more than 15.89 crore (82.09%) households are reported to have tap water supply in their homes and works for the remaining 3.47 crore households are at various stages of implementation in respective States. As numerous projects are implemented concurrently at various levels across the States for achieving the envisaged objectives, project-wise details of individual projects/ schemes for rural water supply projects are maintained at the State Government level. The State-wise details of tap connections including those in Odisha is in public domain and may be accessed at below link: https://ejalshakti.gov.in/jjmreport/JJMState.aspx (d) For all works under JJM, third party inspection and certification before payment is mandatory. For the purpose, States have been empowered to empanel third party inspection agencies (TPIA) to check the quality of work executed by the agencies, quality of materials used for construction and quality of machinery installed in each of the scheme. The details of quality checks done by TPIAs is also maintained at State Level. (e) To ensure timely completion of projects, restoration of damaged infrastructure, quality control and uninterrupted safe drinking water supply, the Government has, inter alia, taken the following measures: i. Extension of JJM up to December 2028 with focus on completion of the remaining works; ii. Regular review meetings, field visits and monitoring of physical and financial progress with States/UTs; iii. Issuance of operational guidelines and technical advisories for quality construction, functionality and sustainability of schemes; iv. Third-party inspection, geo-tagging and digital monitoring of scheme implementation; v. Advisories regarding emphasis on timely restoration of roads and other public infrastructure after completion of pipe-laying works by implementing agencies; vi. Strengthening of water quality monitoring through laboratories and community-based water quality surveillance using Field Testing Kits; and vii. Focus on operation & maintenance, source sustainability, village-level institutional strengthening and grievance redressal to ensure supply of safe drinking water to rural households. ***** Page 2 of 2