SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has drawn Rs 6,496.48 crore out of Rs 18,514.25 crore allocated to the Union Territory under the first phase of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), the Centre informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
In a written reply to an unstarred question by MP Gulam Ali, Minister of State for Jal Shakti V Somanna said the JJM was launched in August 2019 to provide tap water supply to every rural household.
Under the first phase of the mission, J&K was allocated Rs 18,514.25 crore, of which Rs 6,496.48 crore was drawn. Under the restructured JJM 2.0, the UT has been allocated Rs 905.74 crore for the financial year 2026-27, while a mother sanction of Rs 116.06 crore has been issued.
The Centre has extended the Jal Jeevan Mission until December 2028, with an enhanced outlay and a restructured implementation framework focused on reforms in the rural drinking water supply sector.
The reply said J&K had only 5.76 lakh rural households, or 29.9 per cent of the total, with tap water connections when the mission began in August 2019.
Since then, around 9.88 lakh additional rural households have been provided tap water connections. As of July 18, 2026, more than 15.64 lakh of the 19.24 lakh rural households in J&K, or 81.27 per cent, were reported to have tap water supply at home.
The Centre said the extended timeline would help cover the remaining rural households with functional tap water connections.
The government also said three irrigation projects in J&K under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana-Acute Irrigation Benefits Programme (PMKSY-AIBP) had been completed, benefiting Pulwama, Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts. No Central assistance was released for these projects during the last five years.
However, Rs 277.76 crore in Central assistance was released during the last five years for the Shahpur Kandi Dam Project, a national project benefiting J&K and Punjab.
The reply further stated that the Atal Bhujal Yojana, which was a pilot scheme, was not implemented in J&K. The Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain campaign, meanwhile, is implemented through convergence of funds from various Central, state and local schemes and has no separate budget allocation.
On pending contractor payments and irregularities, the Centre said project-wise details, including arrears pending for contractors, are maintained by the J&K government as drinking water is a state subject.
Complaints relating to sub-standard work and financial irregularities under the JJM are also handled at the UT level. States and UTs have been carrying out monthly inspections of four schemes assigned by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, with checks covering construction quality, adherence to timelines, functionality and resolution of issues. The inspection reports are uploaded on the JJM-IMIS portal.
The Centre also said provisions under the JJM have been made for bulk water transfer and regional water supply schemes in drought-prone and water-scarce areas, along with source-recharging measures such as borewell recharge structures, rainwater recharge and rejuvenation of existing water bodies.
