Business
1d ago
Over 3.6 lakh J&K homes yet to get tap water: Center
Srinagar, Jul 30: More than 3.60 lakh rural households in Jammu and Kashmir are yet to receive Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTCs) under the Centre’s flagship Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), according to data presented in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. As per the Ministry of Jal Shakti, 15,64,303 out of 19,24,945 rural households in Jammu and Kashmir have been provided tap water connections, while 3,60,642 households still remain uncovered as of July 18, 2026. The information was shared by Minister of State for Jal Shakti V Somanna in a written reply to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha regarding universal coverage under the Jal Jeevan Mission. The Ministry stated that the Jal Jeevan Mission (Har Ghar Jal), launched in August 2019, aims to provide every rural household with an assured supply of potable drinking water through tap connections at a service level of 55 litres per capita per day (LPCD), conforming to BIS:10500 standards on a regular and long-term basis. It further informed Parliament that the Union Cabinet has approved the extension of Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 till December 2028, with an enhanced financial outlay and a restructured implementation framework focused on structural reforms in the rural drinking water sector. The Ministry noted that drinking water is a state subject, making the planning, implementation, operation and maintenance of water supply schemes the responsibility of the respective State and Union Territory governments. The Centre, it said, provides only technical and financial assistance under the mission. Nationally, the government said that when the mission was launched in 2019, only 3.24 crore rural households (16.72 per cent) had tap water connections. As of July 18, 2026, the number has increased to 15.89 crore households, covering 82.09 per cent of the country’s 19.36 crore rural households. According to the state-wise data, West Bengal has the highest number of uncovered rural households at 75.74 lakh, followed by Rajasthan (44.02 lakh), Kerala (31.74 lakh), Madhya Pradesh (27.85 lakh) and Jharkhand (27.84 lakh). Jammu and Kashmir accounts for 3.60 lakh uncovered households, while neighbouring Ladakh has only 699 households yet to receive tap water connections. The Ministry did not specify a separate timeline for Jammu and Kashmir but said the mission’s overall target is to achieve universal rural tap water coverage by December 2028 under the extended Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0.
