Rs. 8.69 lakh crore: the enhanced outlay approved for a restructured Jal Jeevan Mission

Background

The Union Cabinet approved the Ministry of Jal Shakti's proposal to restructure and reorient the Jal Jeevan Mission from infrastructure creation to service delivery for rural piped potable water supply. The mission period was extended up to December 2028, and the restructured mission is carried forward as JJM 2.0, which is to provide a tap water connection to all the 19.36 crore rural households in the country and have every Gram Panchayat certified as 'Har Ghar Jal'. For that restructuring the Cabinet approved enhancement of the total outlay to Rs. 8.69 lakh crore, with total central assistance of Rs. 3.59 lakh crore, enhanced from Rs. 2.08 lakh crore approved in 2019-20 - an additional central share of Rs. 1.51 lakh crore. A Gram Panchayat certifies completion of works and declares itself 'Har Ghar Jal' only once in-village operation and maintenance mechanisms have been established by the State Government. The programme promotes 'Jal Utsav' as an annual, community-led maintenance and review event. From a baseline of 3.23 crore, or 17 per cent, of rural households with tap water connections in 2019, more than 12.56 crore additional households have since been given tap water connections. Of the 19.36 crore rural households identified by the States and Union Territories, around 15.80 crore, or 81.61 per cent, are reported to have tap water connections. The mission is to be taken forward through separate memoranda of understanding with States and Union Territories.