Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) Overview
Announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15, 2019, the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) is the largest rural drinking water program in the world. Its aim is to provide tap connections to all 193.5 million rural households by 2024, with a total outlay of ₹3.60 trillion. JJM represents a shift from measuring by habitations to individual households, involving community ownership through Pani Samitis, and emphasizes source sustainability.
Achievements and Expansion
By March 2026, JJM was restructured as JJM Version 2.0, extending its deadline to December 2028 and increasing the total outlay to ₹8.69 trillion. Coverage increased from 16.7% to 81.6% of rural households, resulting in significant time savings for water fetching and certification of 277,000 villages as Har Ghar Jal.
Implementation Challenges
- Wrong Outcome Metric: Initial measurements focused on taps installed rather than water delivered. Functional assessments revealed inconsistencies in meeting standards of quantity, quality, and regularity.
- Ghost Tap Problem: Inflated reporting and issues like non-existent connections and fraud in states like Rajasthan. JJM 2.0 aims to rectify this with a national digital registry for validation.
- O&M Challenge: Insufficient implementation of Operations & Maintenance policies. JJM 2.0 mandates O&M mechanisms before certifying Har Ghar Jal.
- Source Sustainability: Concerns over drying water sources with reported declines in groundwater. JJM 2.0 reinstates a 30-year source guarantee and mandates sustainability planning.
- Procurement Failures: Issues like single bid contracts and lack of quality enforcement. Fund disbursements are now linked to reform MoUs.
- Pending Bills: Significant payment delays to contractors affecting project timelines. Funding cuts in FY25 compounded the issue.
- Funds Management: Conditional fund releases are now in place, replacing automatic disbursements. Budget for 2025-26 has been restored to a higher level.
Conclusion
The JJM reflects a well-intentioned central program facing execution challenges. The path to success lies in honest and purposeful implementation to achieve a transformational domestic water supply story in India.
The views presented are personal opinions of the writer, an infrastructure expert and founder of The Infravision Foundation, supported by research from Dr. Mutun Chaobisana.
