SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has 3,60,642 rural households yet to receive tap water connections under the Jal Jeevan Mission, with 15,64,303 of the Union Territory’s 19,24,945 rural households covered as of July 18, 2026, according to the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti.
The data placed before the Lok Sabha shows that 81.26 per cent of rural households in Jammu and Kashmir have household tap water connections, leaving 18.74 per cent still uncovered. The coverage in JK is slightly below the national level of 82.09 per cent.
In neighbouring Ladakh, 39,835 of 40,534 rural households have tap water connections, leaving 699 households without coverage. This puts Ladakh’s coverage at around 98.28 per cent, considerably above the national average.
Across India, around 15.89 crore of the 19.36 crore rural households had been provided tap water connections as of July 18, leaving 3.46 crore households without such connections. At the beginning of the Jal Jeevan Mission in August 2019, only 3.24 crore, or 16.72 per cent, of rural households had tap water connections.
The Union Government said the Jal Jeevan Mission-Har Ghar Jal aims to provide every rural household with assured potable water through household tap connections at a service level of 55 litres per capita per day, conforming to prescribed quality standards and available on a regular and long-term basis.
The Union Cabinet has extended the Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 until December 2028 with an enhanced financial outlay and a restructured implementation framework focused on structural reforms in the rural drinking water supply sector, Minister of State for Jal Shakti V Somanna informed the Lok Sabha in reply to Unstarred Question No. 1962.
The Ministry said drinking water is a State subject and the responsibility for planning, approval, implementation, operation and maintenance of water supply schemes rests with the respective State and Union Territory governments. The Centre provides technical and financial assistance to support their efforts.
The national data shows wide variations in coverage. Several States and Union Territories, including Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Telangana, Goa and Mizoram, have reported full coverage, while Rajasthan has the highest number of uncovered rural households at 44.02 lakh, followed by Kerala with 31.74 lakh and Madhya Pradesh with 27.85 lakh.
Jammu and Kashmir’s 3.60 lakh uncovered rural households are fewer in absolute numbers than those in several larger States, but its coverage rate remains below the national average. Ladakh, meanwhile, is among the better-performing regions, with more than 98 per cent of its rural households covered.
The figures were provided by the Ministry of Jal Shakti in the Lok Sabha on July 30, 2026, in response to a question on universal coverage under the Jal Jeevan Mission.
