New Delhi, Mar 10 The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the extension of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation till December 2028 and increased its total outlay to ₹8.69 lakh crore to strengthen rural drinking water supply across the country.
The Centre’s total assistance under the mission has been raised to ₹3.59 lakh crore from ₹2.08 lakh crore approved in 2019-20, with an additional allocation of ₹1.51 lakh crore. The revamped programme will shift focus from infrastructure creation to citizen-centric service delivery supported by stronger governance and institutional mechanisms.
A national digital platform, Sujalam Bharat, will be introduced to map the drinking water supply system from source to tap. Each village will receive a unique Sujal Gaon/Service Area ID to improve monitoring and transparency.
Gram Panchayats and Village Water and Sanitation Committees will certify completion of schemes under the Jal Arpan initiative, ensuring proper operation and maintenance before declaring villages as “Har Ghar Jal”. The government will also promote Jal Utsav, an annual community-led event to review and maintain water infrastructure.
Since its launch in 2019, the mission has expanded tap water coverage significantly. From just 3.23 crore rural households (17%) with tap connections earlier, more than 12.56 crore new connections have been added. Currently, about 15.80 crore of the 19.36 crore rural households — around 81.6% — have access to tap water.
Studies suggest the programme has freed nearly 9 crore women from fetching water daily, improved health outcomes and created large-scale rural employment.
Under JJM 2.0, the government aims to provide tap water connections to all rural households and certify every Gram Panchayat as “Har Ghar Jal” by December 2028 while strengthening sustainable water supply systems.
