Extension of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) Till 2028

Context

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced an extension of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) till 2028, with an outlay of Rs 67,000 crore in the Union Budget 2025-26.

About 

• The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), launched in 2019, aimed to offer Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC), ensuring 55 litres per capita per day of secure drinking water to all rural families by 2024. However, because of implementation challenges, the cut-off date has now been extended to 2028.
• The cognizance now shifts to quality infrastructure, sustainable operation, and community-led control under the principle of “Jan Bhagidari” (people’s participation).

Key Features of JJM

• Objectives & Implementation Strategy:

• • • Universal Piped Water Access: Ensuring each rural family receives tap water by 2028.
    • Community Involvement: Village Water & Sanitation Committees (VWSCs) or Pani Samitis play a key position, with 50% mandatory participation from women.
    • State Participation: States/UTs sign agreements to ensure sustainability and service quality.

• Administrative Framework:

• • • Nodal Ministry: Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti.
    • Background: JJM subsumed the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP).

• Funding Pattern:

• • • 90:10 for Himalayan and North-Eastern States.
    • 100% Central Funding for Union Territories.
    • 50:50 for different States.

• Achievements Since 2019:

• • 80% of rural families now have piped water access, up from 15% in 2019.
  • Over 12 crore households have won access to consuming water.
  • States with 100% Coverage: Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Telangana, and Mizoram.
  • UTs with 100% Coverage: Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra & Nagar Haveli & Daman & Diu, and Puducherry.

Challenges in Implementation

• Infrastructure & Connectivity Issues:

• • • Initial “Low-Hanging Fruit” Approach: Coverage was fast expanded in regions with existing infrastructure, however expanding to remote villages has been established hard.
    • Reservoir-to-Village Pipelines: Many villages require water transportation from distant reservoirs, increasing prices and logistical complexity.

• Cost Overruns Due to External Factors:

• • • COVID-19 Impact: Disruptions in supply chains and exertions availability.
    • Russia-Ukraine War: Equipment and material prices surged, straining budgets.

• Implementation Bottlenecks:

• • Underutilization of Funds: Despite finances allocations, ₹50,000 crore remained unspent in 2024-25, highlighting execution inefficiencies.

Way Ahead

• Strengthening Last-Mile Connectivity: Prioritizing infrastructure expansion in faraway areas.
  • Upgrading reservoir pumping structures and ensuring adequate groundwater resources.
• Improving Budget Utilization: Enhancing country-level execution capacity to ensure well timed use of allotted funds.
  • Flexible funding mechanisms to house fee fluctuations.
• Ensuring Transparency & Accountability: Implementing impartial verification mechanisms to validate actual water supply in rural families.
  • Leveraging generation (IoT- based tracking, GIS mapping) for actual-time tracking.
• State & Centre Coordination: Ensuring states fulfill their funding obligations to keep away from delays.
  • Stronger agreements between the Centre and states for clean implementation.
• Community Engagement & Women’s Participation: Expanding “Jan Bhagidari” (people’s participation) to ensure local ownership of water control.
  • Increasing girls’s management roles in Pani Samitis.

Source: The Indian Express

UPSC Mains Practice Question

Q. What is water stress? How and why does it differ regionally in India? (2019)

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