Datanomics: Jal Jeevan Mission connections rise, supply remains hurdle

Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 extends deadline to 2028, but gaps in water supply functionality and declining fund utilisation raise concerns despite rising rural tap coverage

On March 22, the Ministry of Jal Shakti released the operational guidelines for Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) 2.0, extending the mission’s deadline from 2024 to 2028. It also announced that projects costing ~100 crore and above would be scrutinised before release of funds to states. Though the coverage of tap water connection has increased from 16.71 per cent when the scheme was launched in 2019 to 81.77 per cent as on March 24, 2026, water supply remains an issue as no states with full coverage has achieved full functionality. 

Most states with full tap coverage fall short on water supply 

Among nine states claiming 100 per cent tap coverage, Tripura and Gujarat are the worst performers as they stand below the halfway mark on functionality. 

 

1/6th households dissatisfied with water quantity 

Quantity, not quality, is a bigger grievance: 16.9 per cent of households in a government survey found their water supply to be insufficient, compared to 7.6 per cent who were not satisfied with the standard of potable water. 

 

Spending shrinks to nearly a quarter 

Although Budget allocation has increased year-on-year, its utilisation fell to about one-third in FY25 compared to 95.7 per cent in FY21 and is projected to decline further to one-fourth in FY26 (RE).