Lok Sabha Question No. 169 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-01-29
Subject: Status of the Jal Jeevan Mission in Aspirational Districts
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Arun Bharti, Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

## DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 169

ANSWERED ON 29/01/2026

## STATUS OF THE JAL JEEVAN MISSION IN ASPIRATIONAL DISTRICTS

## 169.  SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY: SHRI ARUN BHARTI:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a) the current status of implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) across the country including the total number of rural households provided with Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTCs), State/UT-wise including district-wise for Bihar;
- (b) the number of projects completed and pending along with the reasons for any delays and the financial assistant given/funds allocated and utilised so far under the said mission, State/UT wise including Bihar;
- (c) the status of implementation of the said mission in the aspirational districts including Jamui district, State/UT-wise including coverage percentage, the specific challenges such as water quality issues (arsenic, fluoride), source sustainability and slow project execution faced in these districts, particularly in Bihar along with the steps taken to achieve the targets and the number of villages certified as 'Har Ghar Jal' in Jamui district;
- (d) the  initiatives  undertaken  to  promote  community  participation,  especially  women's involvement in the management and monitoring of water supply systems under the said mission;
- (e) the measures adopted to address issues related to drought-prone, desert and water qualityaffected regions under the said mission;
- (f) the  details  of  the  future  plans  and  the  timeline  fixed  for  achieving  hundred  per  cent household tap water supply coverage; and
- (g) the number of water testing labs set up and women trained for using field-testing kits in Jamui Lok Sabha Constituency?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## (SHRI V. SOMANNA)

- (a) to (c) Since August 2019, the Government of India is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) - Har Ghar Jal, in partnership with States/ UTs, to make provision of tap water connection to every rural household of the country. At the start of the mission, only 3.23 crore (16.71%) rural households were reported to have tap water connections. So far, as reported by States/ UTs as on 23.01.2026, around 12.55 crore additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections. Thus, as on 23.01.2026, out of 19.36 crore rural households in

the  country,  more  than  15.78  crore  (81.55%)  households  are  reported  to  have  tap  water connections in their homes.

Similarly, as reported by States/ UTs on JJM IMIS, as on 15.08.2019, only 21.42 lakh (7.77%) rural households had provision of tap water connection in aspirational districts. Since then, around 1.98 crore additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections under JJM. Thus, as on 23.01.2026, out of 2.75 crore rural households in aspirational districts, more than 2.19 crore (79.70%) rural households have tap water connections representing a significant progress.

The  State/UT-wise  and  district  -wise  status  of  tap  water  connections,  including  those  in aspirational districts, along with State-wise details of reported utilization of central and state share under JJM is available in public domain and is accessible through JJM dashboard at: https://ejalshakti.gov.in/jjmreport/JJMIndia.aspx

'Water'  being  a  state  subject,  the  responsibility  of  planning,  approval,  implementation, operation, and maintenance of drinking water supply schemes/ works, including those under JJM,  lies  with  State/UT  Governments.  The  Government  of  India  supports  the  states  by providing technical and financial assistance. Numerous projects are implemented concurrently at various levels across the States for achieving the envisaged objectives. As such, project-wise details of individual projects/ schemes for rural water supply projects are maintained at the state government level.

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. No specific challenges have been reported by States/ UTs in implementation of JJM in aspirational districts.

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.

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.

In Jamui district of Bihar, only 4,522 (1.90%) rural households were reported to have tap water connections in their homes on 15.08.2019. As on 23.01.2026, out of 2.38 lakh rural households, the number of rural households covered with tap water connections is 2.35 lakh (98.65%). 1,216 villages in the district are reported to be HGJ, however, no village is certified so far.

- (d) The aspects of village level planning and community participation in all decisions pertaining to  water  supply  systems  have  been  included  in  the  design  of  JJM.  Some  of  the  major initiatives taken up under the mission for participation of rural community are listed as under:
- i.) Around 5.33 lakh sub-committee/ user group of the Gram Panchayats i.e. Village Water & Sanitation Committee (VWSC) or Pani Samiti with at least 50% women members and suitable representation to marginalized sections of society, have been constituted which are involved in the preparation of Village action plan (VAP) for water supply schemes and plan, design, implement, operate and maintain the in-village water supply schemes.
- ii.) Five women are identified and trained from every village for testing the water samples through Field Test Kits (FTKs) and so far, 24.80 lakh women have been trained.
- iii.) NGOs/  Community  Based  Organizations (CBOs)/ Self Help Groups (SHGs)/ Voluntary  Organizations  (VOs),  etc.  have  also  been  empaneled  as  Implementation Support Agencies (ISAs) to handhold and train VWSCs/ Pani Samitis;
- iv.) Handing over of schemes to community through Jal Arpan thus fostering Jan Bhagidari.

The guidelines and initiatives in this regard have been shared with the States/UTs for further implementation.

- (e) Under JJM, while allocating the fund to States/UTs, 30% weightage is assigned for difficult terrains  which inter  alia include areas under Desert Development Programme (DDP) and Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP) for prioritizing the implementation of piped water supply  schemes.  In  addition,  provisions  have  been  made  for  drinking  water  source development/  strengthening/  augmentation;  and  infrastructure  for  bulk  transfer  of  water, treatment and distribution systems in water deficit drought-prone and desert areas without dependable ground water sources, apart from creation of in-village water supply infrastructure.

Similarly, while planning water supply schemes under JJM to provide tap water supply to households, priority is also given to habitations affected by chemical contaminants. States/ UTs  have  been  advised  to  plan  and  implement  piped  water  supply  schemes  based  on alternative safe water sources for the villages with water quality issues. States/ UTs can utilize up to 2% of their annual allocation 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.

- (f) To achieve 100 percent coverage through continued implementation of mission with focus on quality of infrastructure and O&M of rural piped water supply schemes for long term sustainability  and  citizen  centric  water  service  delivery,  Hon'ble  Finance  Minister  during budget speech 2025 had announced extension of JJM until 2028 with enhanced total outlay.
- (g) As  reported  by  the  State  of  Bihar  on  WQMIS,  there  are  three  (03)  water  quality  testing laboratories in Jamui district. However, no women have been reported as trained in the use of field-testing kits in the district. The constituency-wise details are not maintained in JJMIMIS.

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