PERSISTENT UNDERUTILIZATION OF FUNDS UNDER JJM

PERSISTENT UNDERUTILIZATION OF FUNDS UNDER JJM

Government of India is committed to make provision for safe & potable tap water supply in adequate quantity, of prescribed quality 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. The significant progress has been made under the mission as in August 2019, only 3.23 crore (16.7%) rural households were reported to have tap water connections, while as on 30.07.2025, out of 19.36 crore rural households, more than 15.67 crore (80.97%) are reported to have tap water supply.

In August 2019, Union Cabinet had approved the implementation of JJM from 2019-20 to 2023-24 with central outlay of Rs. 2,08,652 Crore. This Department had utilized Rs.1,85,958 Crore till 2023-24 leaving a balance of Rs. 22,694 Crore for utilization in 2024-25. The balance outlay of Rs. 22,694 Crore was only considered for ceiling of expenditure at RE stage for 2024-25. Thus, against the allocated fund, almost entire fund has been utilized.

To achieve the goal of the mission with focus on quality of infrastructure and Operation & Maintenance of rural piped water supply schemes for long term sustainability and citizen centric water service delivery, Hon’ble Finance Minister during her budget speech 2025-26 has announced extension of Jal Jeevan Mission until 2028 with enhanced total outlay.

Drinking Water being a State subject, it is States, who plan, design, approve and implement drinking water supply schemes. Government of India supplements the efforts of the States by providing technical and financial assistance. States have informed that lack of dependable drinking water sources in water-stressed, drought prone and desert areas, presence of geo-genic contaminants in ground water, uneven geographical terrain, scattered rural habitations, delay in release of the matching State share in some States, lack of technical capacity with implementing agencies, Gram Panchayats and local communities to plan, manage, operate & maintain the water supply schemes, delay in obtaining statutory/ other clearances, etc. are few of problems being faced in the implementation of the Mission.

To address the challenges holistically and overcome these, Government of India has taken a number of steps, inter alia including implementation of Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure through M/o Finance for financial assistance as 50-year interest free loan for capital investment projects; nomination of a nodal officer in the Department for coordinating with Central nodal Ministries/ Departments/ agencies to facilitate the States in obtaining Statutory/ other clearances; setting up of State Programme Management Units (SPMUs) and District Programme Management Units (DPMUs) and implementation of “Nal Jal Mitra Programme” for ensuring availability of skilled local persons at village level to bridge the gap in availability of technical skill sets and of HR for programme management.

Under the Mission, States have been advised for source recharging, viz. dedicated bore well recharge structures, rainwater recharge, rejuvenation of existing water bodies, reuse of greywater, etc., in convergence with other schemes such as MGNREGS, Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), 15th Finance Commission tied grants to RLBs/ PRIs, State schemes, CSR funds, etc.

Further, Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain (JSA: CTR) campaign aiming to encourage water conservation at grass-root levels with people’s participation was launched in 2019 in 256 water stressed districts of the country. Moreover, recognizing the importance of sustainable water management especially for drinking water availability, JSA-CTR was implemented with the theme “Source Sustainability for Drinking Water” in 2023. Similarly, in 2024, JSA was implemented with the theme “Nari Shakti se Jal Shakti” and in 2025, JSA is being implemented with the theme “People’s Action for Water Conservation – Towards Intensified Community Connect” emphasizing the pivotal role played by community especially women in the field of water conservation.

This information was provided by THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR TEXTILES SHRI V. SOMANNA in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.     

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