Parliament Question: Jal Jeevan Mission and measures for groundwater conservation

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2642# ANSWERED ON 16/03/2026 JAL JEEVAN MISSION AND MEASURES FOR GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION 2642 # Tejveer Singh: Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state: (a) whether satisfactory progress has been made towards providing tap water connections to all rural households in the country under the Jal Jeevan Mission; (b) if so, the current status of coverage and the details of States/districts that have achieved hundred percent target; and (c) whether additional measures are being taken under other initiatives, including the Atal Bhujal Yojana, for groundwater conservation and improvement of water quality? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI V. SOMANNA) (a) & (b) Government of India is committed to make provision for safe & potable tap water supply in adequate quantity (55 lpcd), of prescribed quality and on a regular & long-term basis to all rural households in the country. Towards this end, the Government of India launched the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), to be implemented in partnership with States/ UTs in August 2019. Drinking Water is a state subject, and hence, the responsibility of planning, approval, implementation, operation, and maintenance of drinking water supply schemes, including those under JJM, lies with State/UT Governments. The Government of India supports the States/UTs by providing technical and financial assistance. Significant progress has been made in the country since the launch of Jal Jeevan Mission, towards enhancing access to tap water to rural households. At the start of Jal Jeevan Mission in August 2019, only 3.23 Crore (16.72%) rural households were reported to have tap water connections. So far, as reported, more than 12.58 crore additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections under JJM. Thus, as on 08.03.2026, out of 19.35 Crore rural households in the country, around 15.82 Crore (81.74%) households are reported to have tap water supply in their homes. Further, eleven (11) States/ UTs reported to have achieved hundred percent target in providing tap water connections. The current status of coverage and the details of States/Districts that have achieved hundred percent target under JJM are available at JJM Dashboard. The link of JJM Dashboard is as under: https://ejalshakti.gov.in/jjmreport/jjmindia.aspx Page 1 of 2(c) Ministry of Jal Shakti is implementing several initiatives i.e. Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain, Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB), National Aquifer Mapping Programme (NAQUIM) including Atal Bhujal Yojana for groundwater conservation and improvement of water quality. Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) was launched in 2019 as a time-bound, mission-mode water conservation campaign in 256 water-stressed districts. The 6th edition of JSA: CTR was launched on 22nd March 2025 with the theme “Jal Sanchay, Jan Bhagidari: Jan Jagrukta Ki Or” To further strengthen JSA: CTR, "Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari" (JSJB) initiative, launched on 6th September 2024, focuses on intensifying community action and mobilization to build low-cost rainwater harvesting structures in low cost and saturation mode. Atal Bhujal Yojana was a pilot project with fixed duration and outlay, implemented across 8,203 water stressed Gram Panchayats of 229 blocks in 80 districts of seven States viz. Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The Scheme has successfully demonstrated the efficacy of community led participatory ground water management and provided a replicable model which can be taken up for implementation by other States also, with their own budgetary arrangements. Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has completed the National Aquifer Mapping (NAQUIM) Project in the entire mappable area of about 25 Lakh sq. km in the Country. The management plans include supply side interventions in the form of rain water harvesting by artificial recharge and water conservation structures to be implemented by the State Govt. CGWB has initiated NAQUIM 2.0 studies for detailed mapping with much higher granularity in identified priority areas like water stressed areas, areas affected with ground water contamination, coastal areas, urban agglomerates, spring sheds, industrial clusters etc. The core objective of NAQUIM 2.0 is to present implementable ground water management plans and strategies. Further, various steps have been taken by the Central Government for facilitating ground water quality improvement/ remediation of pollutants, as given below: • Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) conducts periodic groundwater quality monitoring to identify both contaminated and non-contaminated areas including urban areas in the country. • To ensure safe drinking water, States/ UTs are advised to regularly test water quality and take corrective action when contamination is detected. Under JJM, up to 2% of allocations can be used for Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance, including upgrading laboratories, procuring equipment and field test kits, and obtaining NABL accreditation. • Under the National Aquifer Mapping Programme (NAQUIM) of CGWB, special attention has been given to the aspect of ground water quality including contamination by toxic substances such as Arsenic in ground water. • Awareness generation programs/ workshop on various aspects of ground water including preventing ground water pollution and safe use of contaminated water are being conducted by CGWB periodically. ***** Page 2 of 2