Parliament Question: Jal Jeevan Mission and Water Security Index

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2633# ANSWERED ON 16/03/2026 JAL JEEVAN MISSION AND WATER SECURITY INDEX 2633# SHRI SANJAY KUMAR JHA: Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state: (a) the number of districts that have achieved 100 per cent tap water facility so far under Jal Jeevan Mission; (b) whether Government plans to expand water quality monitoring laboratories to every Panchayat level under this initiative; and (c) whether the work towards the preparation of an India Water Security Index is underway? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI V. SOMANNA) (a) to (c) As reported by States/ UTs on Jal Jeevan Mission - Integrated Management Information System (JJM-IMIS), as on 12.03.2026, 192 districts are reported as ‘Har Ghar Jal’ district. As reported by States/UTs on JJM-WQMIS, as on 12.03.2026, there are 2,870 drinking water quality testing laboratories at various levels viz. State, regional, district, sub-division, block, mobile and/ or Water Treatment Plants (WTP) facility laboratories. States/ UTs have been also been advised to review the existing network of drinking water quality testing laboratories in the State and to strengthen it by setting up/ exploring Public-Private Partnership for additional labs at regional level, district level and block/ sub-division level in the State. Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, States/ UTs may deploy FTKs and services of Mobile Water Testing Laboratories to facilitate testing of drinking water in remote and far-flung areas where fixed laboratory infrastructure may not be available. The mobile laboratories enable on-site testing of drinking water sources and supply systems, thereby extending water quality monitoring and surveillance services to rural habitations, including remote Panchayats. The Composite Water Management Index (CWMI), first published by NITI Aayog in 2018, assesses water management in India using indicators such as water stress and water quality, based on central and state data for FY 2015–16 and FY 2016–17. The second CWMI report (2019) reported that nearly 80% of assessed states showed improvement in water management over the last three years. The first CWMI also highlighted limited access to drinking water, with 75% of households lacking water on premises and 84% of rural households without piped supply. These gaps have since been significantly reduced through the Jal Jeevan Mission, with over 81% of 19.36 crore rural households now reported having tap water connections, contributing to improved water management outcomes. *****