Parliament Question: Har Ghar Jal Yojana under JJM in Tamil Nadu

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER & SANITATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3027 ANSWERED ON 18/12/2025 HAR GHAR JAL YOJANA UNDER JJM IN TAMIL NADU 3027. SHRI SELVAM G: Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware that the coverage of tap water connections has increased from 17.37 per cent in August 2019 to 88.48 per cent as on March 2025 under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) – Har Ghar Jal in Tamil Nadu; (b) if so, the total number of rural households provided with functional household tap connections under the said Mission since its inception in Tamil Nadu, district-wise; (c) whether there are any pending works or districts yet to achieve full coverage under the said Mission and if so, the details thereof along with the expected timeline set for their completion; (d) the number of villages certified as Har Ghar Jal in Tamil Nadu and the steps taken to empower Gram Panchayats to manage and maintain local water supply systems sustainably; and (e) the measures taken by the Government to ensure the quality and sustainability of water supply in rural Tamil Nadu? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI V. SOMANNA) (a) to (c) Since August 2019, 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. As reported by the state of Tamil Nadu on JJM- IMIS, at the start of JJM on 15.08.2019, only 21.76 lakh (17.37%) rural households had tap water connections. Since then, around 90.21 lakh additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections. Thus, as on 15.12.2025, out of 125.26 lakh rural households in state, the provision of tap water connections is available to 111.97 lakh (89.39%) rural households. The district -wise status of tap water connection in rural areas provided under JJM is available in public domain and is accessible through JJM dashboard at: https://ejalshakti.gov.in/jjmreport/JJMIndia.aspx Of the 37 districts in Tamil Nadu, 15 districts have been reported to be Har Ghar Jal. To achieve 100 percent coverage through continued implementation of mission with focus on quality of infrastructure and O&M of rural piped water supply schemes for long term sustainability and citizen centric water service delivery, Hon'ble Finance Minister during budget speech 2025 announced extension of JJM until 2028 with enhanced total outlay. Page 1 of 2(d) As reported on JJM-IMIS by state government of Tamil Nadu, 8,047 villages have been certified as Har Ghar Jal in state. JJM has been envisioned and implemented as a decentralized, demand-driven and community-managed programme, wherein the Gram Panchayat and/ or its sub-committee/ user group i.e. Village Water & Sanitation Committee (VWSC)/ Pani Samiti have been empowered to plan, implement, manage, operate and maintain in-village water supply system to provide regular and assured tap water supply in rural households. Further, provision has been made in the operational guidelines for implementation of JJM for the preparation of Village Action Plan (VAP) by village community, which inter alia includes strengthening of drinking water sources in convergence with other schemes such as MGNREGS, Finance Commission grants to rural local bodies/ PRIs, MP & MLA’s Local Area Development Fund, District Mineral Development Fund, CSR fund, etc. Under JJM, NGOs/ Community Based Organizations (CBOs)/ Self Help Groups (SHGs)/ Voluntary Organizations (VOs), etc. are also empanelled 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. (e) As informed by the state government of Tamil Nadu, following measures have been taken to ensure quality and sustainability of rural water supply systems: i.) Performance based Operations and Maintenance (O&M) contract is implemented to ensure proper maintenance and supply of earmarked quantity of water upto tail end habitations. As per the performance-based contract, maintenance of CWSS including chemicals, attending the leaks, bursts and ensuring the supply of earmarked quantity to be beneficiaries will be responsibility of the contractor. ii.) To ensure quality monitoring, TWAD PMS software is used for O&M schemes in which details such as daily pumping quantity, beneficiary wise supply, leaks and bursts, etc., are reported and monitored at the highest level. iii.) The O&M monitoring cell has been established at the Head Office of TWAD Board to collect feedback from five randomly selected Village Panchayats each day, in order to ascertain the field reality in maintenance of water supply schemes. iv.) An Emergency Information Response Centre (EIRC) is constituted at the TWAD Board, Head office to receive any complaints related to Bulk Water supply. v.) Single Village Schemes and in – Village Components of Multi Village Schemes are maintained by the Village Panchayats / VWSC concerned with the technical guidance from RD & PR Department. vi.) One candidate per Village Panchayat are being trained under Nal Jal Mitra Multi skilling programme so as to maintain the SVS / in-village components by the village panchayats. Further, as reported by state of Tamil Nadu on JJM-IMIS, there are 113 drinking water quality testing laboratories in the state to encourage water quality testing to ensure potable drinking water supply. Also, to empower the communities to monitor the water quality, States/ UTs have also been advised to identify and train 5 persons, preferably women, in every village to conduct water quality. So far, the state of Tamil Nadu has trained 62,898 women for FTK testing. ***** Page 2 of 2