Tap water reaches 82.09% of rural households in the country, 15.89 crore households received connections under the Jal Jeevan Mission
New Delhi: The central government has stated that the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) campaign to provide safe drinking water to every household in rural areas of the country is progressing steadily. By July 18, 2026, 15.89 crore (82.09 percent) of the country's 19.36 crore rural households have been provided with tap water connections.
Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil stated in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Thursday that the Jal Jeevan Mission was launched in August 2019. At that time, only 3.24 crore (16.72 percent) rural households in the country had tap water connections. The mission aims to provide every rural household with safe drinking water in adequate quantity, of prescribed quality, and on a regular basis.
He explained that the quality of drinking water in piped water supply schemes under the Mission is ensured as per the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS: 10500) standards. Chemically contaminated areas are given priority in water supply schemes, and any new scheme is approved only after the recommendation of the Source Search Committee of the respective state government.
The government also released a booklet on "Monitoring the Quality of Piped Drinking Water Supply to Rural Households" in December 2024. It provides guidelines for regular water testing at water sources, treatment plants, storage tanks, and distribution points, immediate corrective action if the quality is found to be poor, and providing safe alternative drinking water in affected areas.
According to the government, if water in any area is found to be chemically or bacterially contaminated, mandatory actions such as shutting down the source, informing the affected people, providing safe alternative drinking water within 24 hours, cleaning reservoirs, inspecting pipelines, and performing necessary disinfection are mandatory.
The central government clarified that drinking water is a state subject. Therefore, the planning, approval, implementation, operation and maintenance of schemes under the Jal Jeevan Mission rests with the State and Union Territory Governments, while the Government of India provides financial assistance, policy guidance and technical support.
As per the information presented in the Lok Sabha, detailed details of drinking water samples tested in various States and Union Territories from the year 2023-24 to 2026-27 are also provided in the Annexure.
