Parliament Question: Safe and Regular Water Supply under Jal Jeevan Mission

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER & SANITATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3445 ANSWERED ON 12.03.2026 SAFE AND REGULAR WATER SUPPLY UNDER JAL JEEVAN MISSION †3445. Shri DHARMENDRA YADAV: Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state: (a) whether lakhs of families are still not able to get safe drinking water in the rural and deprived areas of many States of the country despite the target of providing tap water to every household by 2024 under the Jal Jeevan Mission announced by the Government, if so, the details thereof; (b) the total number of households provided with tap connections so far and the number of those still deprived of this amenity, State-wise; and (c) whether the Government is aware that regular water supply is not being provided despite laying of pipelines at many places and fluoride, arsenic and other harmful elements are found in water supply and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI V. SOMANNA) (a) and (b) To enable every rural household in the country to have assured potable water, in adequate quantity of prescribed quality on regular and long-term basis, through tap water connection, since August 2019, Government of India in partnership with states, is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) - Har Ghar Jal. At the start the Mission, only 3.23 Crore (16.7%) rural households were reported to have tap water connections. So far, as reported by States/ UTs as on 03.03.2026, under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) – Har Ghar Jal more than 12.58 Crore additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections. Thus, as on 03.03.2026, out of around 19.36 Crore rural households in the country, around 15.82 Crore (81.71%) households are reported to have tap water supply in their homes and works for the remaining 3.54 Crore households are at various stages of implementation in respective States. State/ UT-wise status of tap water supply across the country as on 03.03.2026 is annexed. (c) Under JJM, as per existing guidelines, Bureau of Indian Standards’ BIS:10500 standards are adopted as benchmark for quality of water being supplied through the piped water supply schemes. As per the Operational Guidelines, States/ UTs can utilize up to 2% of their annual Page 1 of 3allocation of funds under JJM for Water Quality Monitoring & Surveillance (WQM&S) activities, inter-alia, which includes setting up and strengthening of water quality testing laboratories, procurement of equipment, instruments, chemicals, glassware, consumables, hiring of skilled manpower, surveillance by community using field test kits (FTKs), awareness generation, educational programmes on water quality, accreditation/recognition of laboratories, etc. In consultation with various stakeholders 'Concise Handbook for Monitoring Water Quality of Piped Drinking Water Supply to Rural Households’ has been released in December 2024 for guidance to States/ UT’s. This handbook recommended for a comprehensive testing of drinking water samples at various testing points such as source (both surface and ground water), treatment plant, storage and distribution points, and remedial action wherever necessary, to ensure that the water supplied to households is of prescribed quality. Further, under JJM, the Department undertakes assessment of the functionality of household tap water connections provided under the Mission, through an independent third-party agency, selected based on standard statistical sampling. During the Functionality Assessment, 2024, it was found that 98.1% of households in surveyed villages had tap connections; 87% of households with tap connections reported receiving water in the past week, indicating overall progress; 84% households receive water as per schedule; 80% households found receiving the minimum 55 LPCD water; 76% households found free from bacteriological contamination and 81% households of the supply source found free from chemical contamination and considering the parameters of quantity, quality and regularity, 76% of household tap connections were found to be functional. ***** Page 2 of 3ANNEXURE Annexure referred to in Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3445 answered on 12.03.2026 Status of tap water supply across the country as on 03.03.2026 Total rural Rural HHs with tap Rural HHs without S. No. State/ UT HHs as on water supply tap water supply date In No. % In No. % 1. A&N Islands 0.62 0.62 100.00 - - 2. Andhra Pradesh 95.53 71.71 75.06 23.82 24.94 3. Arunachal Pradesh 2.29 2.29 100.00 - - 4. Assam 72.24 59.03 81.71 13.22 18.29 5. Bihar 167.55 160.36 95.71 7.19 4.29 6. Chhattisgarh 49.97 41.20 82.44 8.77 17.56 7. DNH & DD 0.85 0.85 100.00 - - 8. Goa 2.64 2.64 100.00 - - 9. Gujarat 91.18 91.18 100.00 - - 10. Haryana 30.41 30.41 100.00 - - 11. Himachal Pradesh 17.09 17.09 100.00 - - 12. Jammu & Kashmir 19.26 15.64 81.23 3.61 18.77 13. Jharkhand 62.53 34.51 55.18 28.03 44.82 14. Karnataka 101.31 87.83 86.70 13.48 13.30 15. Kerala 70.77 38.84 54.88 31.93 45.12 16. Ladakh 0.41 0.40 97.97 0.01 2.03 17. Madhya Pradesh 0.13 0.12 91.45 0.01 8.55 18. Maharashtra 111.29 82.27 73.92 29.02 26.08 19. Manipur 146.78 132.75 90.44 14.02 9.56 20. Meghalaya 4.52 3.59 79.60 0.92 20.40 21. Mizoram 6.51 5.43 83.47 1.08 16.53 22. Nagaland 1.33 1.33 100.00 - - 23. Odisha 3.64 3.44 94.47 0.20 5.53 24. Puducherry 88.64 68.48 77.25 20.17 22.75 25. Punjab 1.15 1.15 100.00 - - 26. Rajasthan 34.27 34.27 100.00 - - 27. Sikkim 107.69 63.00 58.50 44.69 41.50 28. Tamil Nadu 1.33 1.22 92.09 0.11 7.91 29. Telangana 125.26 112.20 89.57 13.06 10.43 30. Tripura 53.98 53.98 100.00 - - 31. Uttar Pradesh 7.51 6.48 86.33 1.03 13.67 32. Uttarakhand 267.20 243.72 91.21 23.48 8.79 33. West Bengal 14.48 14.19 97.97 0.29 2.03 Total 19,35.87 15,81.70 81.71 3,54.17 18.29 HH: Household Source: JJM – IMIS Page 3 of 3