A meeting of the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Jal Shakti was held on 24^th March 2026 under the chairpersonship of Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Shri C. R. Patil, at his residence. The Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Shri V. Somanna and Shri Raj Bhushan Choudhary also attended the meeting. The meeting included a detailed presentation (PPT) on the progress, impact, and future roadmap of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).

During the meeting, members were apprised of the significant achievements of the Jal Jeevan Mission in ensuring drinking water security in rural India. Access to safe drinking water has contributed to reducing water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera, and typhoid, while also improving child health, nutrition, and school attendance.

It was also apprised that the Union Cabinet has approved the extension of Jal Jeevan Mission till December 2028, with an enhanced outlay of ₹ 8.69 lakh crore. The restructured JJM 2.0 aims to move beyond infrastructure towards sustainable, reliable, and quality service delivery.

Some important Key reform areas highlighted during the meeting include:        

• Establishing Digital Data Governance in Rural Drinking Water Supply Systems: Development of a national digital public infrastructure – “Sujalam Bharat”
• Utility based approach for drinking water service delivery
• Strengthening community-led governance through Gram Panchayats
• Institutionalisation of water quality monitoring and citizen engagement
• Ensuring financial sustainability and O&M systems
• Strengthening technical capacity at district level through District Technical Units (DTUs) as continuous support
• Source Sustainability and Water Security Framework
• Shift from event-based mobilisation to structured participatory governance through ‘Jan Bhagidari’
• Capacity Building Framework for continuous service improvement

The Ministry has initiated the process of signing Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with States/UTs, with 11 States already on board. States have also been requested to submit financial proposals for implementation of JJM 2.0.

Key Highlights:

The Mission has shifted focus from infrastructure creation to service delivery, ensuring a minimum of 55 litres per capita per day (LPCD) of potable water supply.

Coverage has been expanded from habitation-based to household-level access, ensuring tap water connections to every rural household.

As of March 2026, 15.82 crore (82%) rural households have been provided with Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTCs), compared to 3.23 crore (17%) in 2019, reflecting nearly a five-fold increase.

Over 28 lakh km of pipelines and millions of assets have been digitally mapped and geo-tagged, strengthening transparency and monitoring.

Jan Bhagidari and Communication Strategy:  Community participation is being strengthened through initiatives such as “Jal Arpan,” “Jal Utsav,” and “Jal Sankalp.” Awareness campaigns are being carried out through school curricula, community radio, and digital platforms to ensure greater public engagement and ownership.

Members of the Consultative Committee shared valuable suggestions during the meeting, which shall be duly considered by the Ministry. The Union Minister called for collective efforts from all stakeholders to achieve the goal of “Har Ghar Jal” in a time-bound and sustainable manner.

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