Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) Extended Until December 2028: Major Approval by Union Cabinet

Central Government has taken a significant decision to further strengthen the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), an initiative aimed at providing safe and adequate drinking water to rural areas across the country. The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to extend this mission until December 2028 and to restructure it. This decision is expected to accelerate the mission's objective of delivering clean water through taps to every household in rural India.

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¨     The restructuring shifts the mission’s focus from infrastructure creation to reliable service delivery supported by strong drinking water governance and institutional systems.

¨     The government increased the total outlay of the mission to ₹8.69 lakh crore. The central assistance has been enhanced to ₹3.59 lakh crore from the earlier ₹2.08 lakh crore approved during the launch in 2019.

¨     A national digital framework named “Sujalam Bharat” will be introduced to digitally map the entire drinking water supply chain from source to household tap.

¨     Under this framework, every village will receive a unique Sujal Gaon/Service Area ID to strengthen transparency, monitoring, and accountability.

¨     The programme introduces “Jal Arpan”, under which Gram Panchayats (GPs) and Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSCs) will participate in commissioning and formal handover of completed schemes.

¨     A Gram Panchayat will declare itself “Har Ghar Jal” only after confirming that adequate operation and maintenance systems have been established for sustained water supply.

¨     The government will also promote Jal Utsav, an annual community-led event aimed at reviewing water systems and encouraging collective responsibility for maintenance.

¨     The government plans to achieve universal rural tap water coverage for all 19.36 crore rural households by December 2028 through the next phase called JJM 2.0.

Jal Jeevan Mission

¨     The Jal Jeevan Mission was launched in August 2019 to provide Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) to every rural household in India.

¨     The mission aims to ensure a safe and adequate drinking water supply of at least 55 litres per capita per day to every rural household through piped connections.

¨     The mission emphasises community participation through the involvement of GPs and VWSCs in planning and managing water supply systems.

The broad objective of the mission

¨     Providing Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) to every rural household.

¨     Prioritising FHTC provision in quality-affected areas, drought-prone regions, desert areas and Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) villages.

¨     Ensuring functional tap connections in schools, Anganwadi centres, gram panchayat buildings, health and wellness centres, and community buildings.

¨     Promoting voluntary ownership among the local community through contributions in cash, kind, or labour (shramdaan).

¨     Ensuring the sustainability of water supply systems, including water sources, infrastructure, and funding for regular operations and maintenance.

¨     Empowering and developing human resources in the water sector, covering construction, plumbing, electrical work, water quality management, water treatment, catchment protection, and more.

To achieve the objectives of the Jal Jeevan Mission, the following components have been envisaged

¨     In-Village Piped Water Supply Infrastructure – Development of piped water systems within villages to ensure tap water connections to every rural household.

¨     Sustainable Drinking Water Sources – Development of reliable drinking water sources and/or augmentation of existing sources to provide long-term sustainability to the water supply system.

¨     Bulk Water Transfer and Distribution – Establishment of bulk water transfer systems, treatment plants, and distribution networks.

¨     Technological Interventions for Water Quality – Implementation of technologies to remove contaminants where water quality is an issue.\

¨     Retrofitting of Existing Schemes – Upgrading completed and ongoing schemes to provide Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTCs) at a minimum service level of 55 litres per capita per day (lpcd).