The committee recommended that the ministry should introduce ‘source to tap’ schemes where the entire water supply chain such as water source, reservoir, delivery was taken into account. File | Photo credit: The Hindu
A parliamentary committee said the objectives of the ministry’s flagship Jal Shakti ₹8.69 crore Jal Jeevan Mission – which aims to ensure consistent and potable water for all rural households – will remain “unfulfilled” unless sustainable sources of water supply are found.
This came after an official from the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation – an arm of the ministry – told the committee that despite taps under the scheme being installed in many places, there was “…water availability problem due to lack of resources” and that in some places “…water sources were exhausted within a year or two”.
This led the committee to note that “…the goal of securing water for the next 25-30 years under the JJM will remain unfulfilled due to insufficient sustainability of the resource”. Sources include rivers, lakes, ponds or any natural pool.
The committee recommended that the ministry should introduce ‘source to tap’ schemes where the entire water supply chain such as water source, reservoir, delivery was taken into account. There are 6.83 million approved programs under JJM.
The committee “note(d) with concern” that there was no information from states on how many of these programs were “resources for utilization.” The panel stated that “…it is of the view that sustainability of the source is of utmost importance to maintain a long-term steady supply of safe drinking water, otherwise the assets created under the JJM will go to waste after the available sources are extinguished”.
Govt. nod to extension
The Union Cabinet last week approved the extension of the JJM program till 2028 and allocated additional funds to meet its target. A press release from the ministry said the program’s focus will change “…from creating infrastructure to providing services supported by drinking water management and an institutional ecosystem for sustainable rural piped drinking water supply”.
As of January 2026, the scheme, which promised a minimum amount of drinking water per day to every rural household in the country, is estimated to have spent ₹3.6 crore as of 2019, with the Center offering ₹2.08 crore.
Originally intended to reach 100% coverage by 2024, the program has been stuck at around 81% since 2025. As reported by The Hind earlier, covering the remaining 20% requires more money than has been spent so far. The expenditure on the scheme has now increased to ₹ 5 crore and the Centre’s share will be only ₹ 1.5 crore from now till 2028.
“To this end, a unified national digital framework namely ‘Sujalam Bharat’ will be introduced under which each village will be assigned a unique Sujal Gaon ID/service area digitally mapping the entire drinking water supply system from source to tap,” the ministry said in a statement.
From a baseline of 3.23 million (17%) rural households with existing water connections in 2019, more than 12.56 million additional rural households have been provided under JJM so far.
Published – 19 March 2026 21:40 IST
