India's Jal Jeevan Mission Funding Halted, States to Take Over
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The Indian government has announced that it will no longer provide federal funding for the Jal Jeevan Mission, a flagship initiative aimed at connecting rural households with piped water. The decision was made in a written response to a question in Rajya Sabha on Monday, with the government citing the exhaustion of allocated funds. The mission, launched in 2019, aimed to provide tap water connections to all 193.5 million rural households by 2024, a target that was later extended to 2028. Since its inception, the mission has made significant progress, with 157.9 million families (81.5% of the target) receiving functional doorstep water taps. However, 35.64 million households still await connection. The government has allocated ₹67,363 crore for the scheme in the 2026-27 budget, but this is entirely reserved for revenue expenditure, such as salaries and maintenance, with no funds allocated for new infrastructure development. The mission has been instrumental in improving access to clean drinking water in rural areas, where nearly 600 million people face high to extreme water stress. A study by the Niti Aayog estimated that the programme has prevented an estimated 400,000 diarrhoea deaths. While the halt in federal funding may pose a challenge, state governments have been advised to continue the implementation of ongoing works using their own resources.
