- The Union Cabinet extended the Jal Jeevan Mission until December 2028 with Rs 8.7 lakh crore funding
- The mission aims to provide safe drinking water via tap connections to all rural households in India
- Focus will shift from infrastructure to service delivery and sustainable rural piped water supply
The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the extension of Jal Jeevan Mission up to December 2028 with an enhanced outlay of Rs 8.7 lakh crore, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
The project was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 to provide safe and adequate drinking water through tap connections to all households in rural India.
"The Cabinet approved the Ministry of Jal Shakti's proposal to restructure and reorient the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) from infrastructure creation to service delivery, supported by drinking water governance and institutional ecosystem for sustainable rural piped potable water supply," the minister said at a press conference.
For restructuring JJM, focusing on structural reforms, the Cabinet has approved an enhancement of the total outlay to Rs. 8.69 lakh crore, with a total central assistance of Rs. 3.59 lakh crore as against from Rs. 2.08 lakh crore approved in 2019-20.
A uniform national digital framework called "Sujalam Bharat" shall be instituted, under which every village shall be assigned a unique Sujal Gaon or Service Area ID, digitally mapping the complete drinking water supply system from source to tap.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world