Parliament Question: Incomplete Har Ghar Nal, Har Ghar Jal implementation and drinking water scarcity

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. – 1062 ANSWERED ON 09/02/2026 INCOMPLETE HAR GHAR NAL, HAR GHAR JAL IMPLEMENTATION AND DRINKING WATER SCARCITY

1062. SHRI CHOWDRY MOHAMMAD RAMZAN:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) despite the flagship “Har Ghar Nal, Har Ghar Jal” scheme promising piped drinking water to every household, several areas of Jammu and Kashmir still lack reliable supply, the reasons thereof;

(b) whether Government has reviewed the status of water supply projects in remote areas such as Rajwar, Handwara where residents reportedly continue to suffer for even a drop of water despite crores spent on Jal Jeevan Mission works; and

(c) reasons that can explain delays, poor quality and non-functional infrastructure, and the concrete steps and timelines to ensure water supply to these underserved areas? ANSWER THE 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 including Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), 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 (O&M) of drinking water supply schemes/ works, including those under JJM, lies with State/UT Governments.

As reported by the UT of J&K on JJM-IMIS, at the start of JJM on 15.08.2019, only 5.75 lakh (39.89%) rural households had tap water connections. Since then, around 9.89 lakh additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections. Thus, as on

28.01.2026, out of 19.26 lakh rural households in UT, the provision of tap water connections is available to 15.64 lakh (81.23%) rural households.

As informed by UT of J&K, to alleviate the long-standing hardship faced by the residents of Rajwar, an area in district Kupwara, six water supply schemes have been taken up under JJM with the objective of providing adequate and safe drinking water to these villages. As a result, many habitations like Check Saramarg, Sarmarg, Minidora, Khanbal, Rajpora, Sikander Mohalla (Hamla), Tand Mohalla (Wadder), Darina, Chanjmulla, Laribal, Pati Nagni, Nagni Bala (Wadder Bala), Gujjar Patti, Shatigam Nagni, Nabadzeb, Chapran, etc., that had never been connected to piped water supply, have now been provided access for the first time.

Page 1 of 2Further as reported by the UT, the delays in implementation of JJM are due to the factors viz. impact of COVID-19, poor tender response, restrictions imposed post-August 2019, topographical and climatic challenges, paucity of funds, and delays in approval of schemes that were left in initial planning stage, which have affected the pace of JJM implementation.

To expedite the provision of tap water connections to all rural households in the country including those in Jammu & Kashmir, concerted efforts have been made to accelerate the pace of implementation of JJM on ground. These include measures such as holding high level joint review meetings with the state governments on regular basis and visits of multi- disciplinary teams from the department to highlight areas which need attention for expediting implementation to make provision of tap water supply to all households in a time bound manner. The department has also held meetings with 729 District Collectors/District Magistrates/ Collectors across the country, including all Jammu & Kashmir districts, to review various aspects of the implementation of the JJM at the district level. DMs/ DCs/ Collectors have been urged to play a leadership role in monitoring progress of JJM through the District Water and Sanitation Mission (DWSM) dashboard and addressing the bottlenecks to ensure effective implementation of JJM.

To complete the ongoing works, Hon'ble Finance Minister during her budget speech 2025-26 announced extension of Jal Jeevan Mission until 2028. ***** Page 2 of 2