SRINAGAR: The Union Government has extended the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) until December 2028 under the revamped JJM 2.0, with Jammu and Kashmir receiving a central allocation of Rs 905.74 crore for 2026-27, the Lok Sabha was informed on Thursday.
Replying to a starred question, the Ministry of Jal Shakti said the second phase of the mission marks a shift from infrastructure creation to ensuring sustainable, citizen-centric and quality rural drinking water services, with a strong focus on long-term functionality, water source sustainability, operation and maintenance, and community participation.
The ministry said drinking water remains a State subject, while the Centre provides financial and technical support. Jammu and Kashmir, being a Himalayan Union Territory with a legislature, continues to receive Central assistance under the 90:10 funding pattern applicable to Himalayan and North Eastern States and UTs with legislatures.
According to the ministry, as of August 4, 2026, more than 15.90 crore rural households, accounting for 82.19 per cent of the country’s 19.36 crore rural households, have been provided with Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTCs), up from 3.23 crore households (16.72 per cent) when the mission was launched in August 2019.
The Centre said the Union Cabinet approved the extension of the mission in March 2026 with an enhanced financial outlay and structural reforms under JJM 2.0. The revamped programme emphasises assured service delivery, water quality, institutional strengthening and sustainable operation of rural piped water supply systems through community participation.
A key reform under JJM 2.0 is the launch of the ‘Sujalam Bharat’ digital platform, under which every rural village has been assigned a unique Sujal Gaon ID to digitally map the entire drinking water supply network from source to tap. Gram Panchayats and Village Water and Sanitation Committees will certify completed schemes under the ‘Jal Arpan’ initiative, while ‘Jal Utsav’ will promote community-led maintenance and monitoring.
The ministry said no new piped water supply schemes will generally be sanctioned under JJM 2.0, except those in PM-JANMAN and Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan areas. It also clarified that no Central assistance would be provided for retrofitting existing schemes, with such liabilities to be borne by State governments.
For 2026-27, the Centre has allocated Rs 67,363.50 crore under the mission across States and Union Territories. Of this, Rs 5,685.95 crore had been drawn by States and UTs as of August 2, 2026. Jammu and Kashmir had not drawn any funds against its allocation by that date, according to the ministry.
To prevent groundwater contamination and over-exploitation, the ministry said JJM 2.0 mandates adherence to technical standards prescribed by the Central Ground Water Board, Bureau of Indian Standards and the Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation. The programme also integrates geospatial mapping, digital monitoring, real-time water quality surveillance and source protection measures to safeguard rural drinking water sources.
