The Jal Jeevan Mission at the Centre, which aims to provide drinking water to every rural household, has been allocated ₹67,600 crore for the financial year 2026–27, up from ₹67,000 crore allocated in the previous year’s budget for 2025–26. | Photo credit: The Hindu
The Jal Jeevan Mission at the Centre, which aims to provide drinking water to every rural household, has been allocated ₹67,600 crore for the financial year 2026–27, up from ₹67,000 crore allocated in the previous year’s budget for 2025–26.
Despite a hefty allocation last year, the Jal Shakti ministry expects to spend only about ₹17,000 crore at the end of this financial year on March 31, 2026, according to Union Budget documents. The allocations reportedly dropped after gross irregularities in the administration of the program emerged from various states.
Highlights of the Union Budget 2026
Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Gujarat, Assam, Maharashtra and Rajasthan have announced major steps in imposing sanctions and recovery process in cases of financial irregularities and poor quality works under the Jal Jeevan Mission.
Uttar Pradesh has announced that it has initiated an inquiry into 14,264 complaints received from various channels.
The Gujarat government announced that there was a financial loss of ₹120.65 million due to irregularities in 620 villages of Mahisagar district and that recovery orders were issued from 112 implementing agencies, according to a statement in the Lok Sabha in December 2025 by CR Patil, Jal Shakti Minister.
Union Budget 2026-27 Papers
According to data reported by 32 states and union territories, action has been taken against 621 departmental officials, 969 contractors and 153 third-party inspection agencies in cases of financial irregularities and poor quality of work under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the Jal Shakti Ministry said in a statement in December 2025.
At the start of Mission Jal Jeevan in August 2019, only 3.23 million (16.7%) rural households had a water connection. So far, as reported by States and Union Territories as on 11 December 2025, approximately 12.52 million additional rural households have been provided water connection under Mission Jal Jeevan, bringing just over ₹15.76 million or 81.4% of rural Indian households under the scheme.
Published – 01 Feb 2026 20:31 IST