The government has launched a digital identification system for rural drinking water schemes while outlining the implementation roadmap for the next phase of the Jal Jeevan Mission aimed at expanding sustainable tap water supply across the country.
C R Paatil, Union Minister of Jal Shakti, chaired a virtual meeting with ministers of Public Health Engineering Department, Rural Water Supply and Panchayati Raj departments of states and union territories to review the implementation roadmap of Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0. V Somanna, Minister of State in the Ministry of Jal Shakti, also attended the meeting.
The meeting was held following cabinet approval to extend Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 until December 2028 with an enhanced financial outlay and structural reforms aimed at improving sustainability and service delivery.
During the meeting, C R Paatil launched the Sujal Gaon ID, a scheme based digital identifier designed to enable complete digital mapping of rural piped water supply assets. Under the initiative, every rural drinking water scheme in the country will be assigned a digital identity, bringing the rural water supply network onto a unified national platform.
So far, 1.64 lakh Sujal Gaon IDs have been created across 31 states and union territories. These have been linked to about 67,000 Sujalam Bharat IDs. Each Sujalam Bharat ID integrates the infrastructure ID and service area ID of a scheme, creating a comprehensive digital footprint of rural water supply systems.
The initiative is expected to improve transparency, monitoring and digital governance of rural water infrastructure and aligns with the broader vision of building a technologically empowered Viksit Bharat by 2047.
Addressing the meeting, C R Paatil urged states to ensure timely completion of water supply schemes and strengthen monitoring at the ground level. He noted that water is a state subject and the success of the mission depends on the accountability of state governments in delivering reliable tap water supply to rural households.
He said delays in some states had occurred due to technical shortcomings and stressed that expenditure arising from oversized or technically non compliant works would have to be borne by the respective state governments. He added that state funds are also public money and must be utilised with strict vigilance and accountability.
The minister emphasised the need to adhere strictly to approved technical specifications, expenditure limits and proper source assessment to ensure long term sustainability of rural water supply systems. He also encouraged states to strengthen water conservation and recharge efforts in regions facing seasonal water shortages.
C R Paatil said the quality of infrastructure development was as important as the quality of water supplied. He urged states to focus on completing all sanctioned works and to prepare time bound plans for early completion while following the provisions of the memorandum of understanding signed under the mission.
V Somanna highlighted the important role of states and union territories in building a citizen centric service delivery model supported by structural reforms. He said these reforms would strengthen sustainability of water sources, improve operation and maintenance systems and ensure long term functionality of rural water supply infrastructure.
He emphasised the importance of Panchayati Raj Institutions in asset management and accountability and said community participation would remain central under Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 through initiatives such as Jal Arpan and Jal Utsav.
According to him, the mission is expected to generate wide socio economic benefits including reduction in the drudgery faced by women, improved public health outcomes and creation of rural employment opportunities while working towards universal tap water coverage by December 2028.
Ashok K K Meena, Secretary, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, said the extension and restructuring of the mission demonstrated the government’s commitment to strengthening rural drinking water services. He said Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 would prioritise decentralised governance led by gram panchayats supported by strong operation and maintenance systems and greater accountability.
He also highlighted the role of the Sujalam Bharat digital architecture which will map the entire rural water supply chain from source to tap through Sujal Gaon IDs and service area identifiers for every village. The system will enable real time monitoring, transparency and evidence based decision making.
Meena said Jal Seva Aankalan would serve as the primary tool for assessing service delivery at the village level while citizen oversight would be strengthened through the Meri Panchayat application.
He added that gram panchayats would certify Har Ghar Jal status only after ensuring that sustainable operation and maintenance arrangements are fully in place, making long term functionality a key requirement under Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0.
Kamal Kishore Soan, Additional Secretary and Managing Director of the National Jal Jeevan Mission, presented details on the reforms introduced under Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 and the modalities for release of funds.
He said the total financial outlay of the mission has been increased from 3.60 lakh crore rupees to 8.69 lakh crore rupees, reinforcing the government’s commitment to strengthening rural drinking water services. The next phase will focus on improving the quality of infrastructure as well as effective operation and maintenance of rural piped water supply schemes.
Emphasising the principle of Jan Bhagidari, he said community participation and local ownership would be strengthened to ensure long term sustainability of water infrastructure.
He also called on states and districts to actively participate in Jal Mahotsav activities, including Jal Arpan events, meetings of District Water and Sanitation Missions, preparation of service improvement plans, formation of district technical units, preparation of Rajya Jal Utsav calendars and organisation of Lok Jal Utsav programmes at gram panchayat level.
Under Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0, release of central funds will depend on compliance with four mandatory conditions.
Mandatory compliance requirements for release of central funds
• Signing of the memorandum of understanding with the central government
• Creation of Sujal Gaon IDs for complete digital mapping of rural water supply schemes
• Timely financial reconciliation
• Notification of state operation and maintenance policies
The modalities for central financial assistance under the mission include three mechanisms.
Modes of central assistance under Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0
• Upfront payment mode for single village schemes, multi village schemes in quality affected areas and non public water supply systems
• Reimbursement mode for ongoing multi village schemes and bulk water supply systems
• Viability gap funding mode for annuity based public private partnership models in bulk water supply systems
No central assistance will be provided for retrofitting schemes.
The memorandum of understanding signed with states and union territories outlines commitments across several key areas to strengthen governance and service delivery.
Key commitments under the MoU
• Policy institutional and governance reforms
• Asset ownership management and technical support
• Planning financing and programme implementation
• Digital systems data governance and monitoring
• Skilling and capacity building of the rural water workforce
• Water quality monitoring and surveillance
• Communication community engagement and public confidence
The government said strict adherence to these commitments will ensure service level delivery standards, transparent governance and long term sustainability of rural drinking water systems under Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0.
