SRINAGAR: Only 66.71 per cent of rural households in Jammu district have tap water connections under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), the Centre informed the Lok Sabha, adding that more than 1.26 lakh out of 1.89 lakh rural households in the district have been provided with tap water supply as of July 15, 2026.
In a written reply to an unstarred question, Minister of State for Jal Shakti V. Somanna said that at the launch of the Jal Jeevan Mission in August 2019, only 0.49 lakh rural households (25.79 per cent) in Jammu district had tap water connections. Since then, over 0.77 lakh additional rural households have been covered under the scheme.
The minister said that drinking water is a State subject, and while the responsibility for planning, implementation and maintenance of drinking water supply schemes rests with the State or Union Territory Government, the Centre provides technical and financial assistance under the Jal Jeevan Mission. Project-wise details of rural water supply schemes are maintained by the State Government.
The reply also stated that under AMRUT 2.0, the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has taken up 16 projects worth ₹137.88 crore, including operation and maintenance costs, in the sectors of water supply and water body rejuvenation across the districts of Jammu, Rajouri, Reasi and Samba.
On irrigation, the Centre informed the House that three projects—Rajpora Lift Irrigation Project, Tral Lift Irrigation Project, and Restoration and Modernisation of the Main Ravi Canal—have been completed in Jammu and Kashmir under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY-AIBP). These projects have created an additional irrigation potential of 6.52 thousand hectares and developed a command area of 2.28 thousand hectares since 2016.
The Ministry further clarified that the Atal Bhujal Yojana, being a pilot programme, was not implemented in Jammu and Kashmir.
Regarding future plans, the Centre said the Jal Jeevan Mission gives priority to difficult and water-scarce areas through additional weightage in fund allocation and supports measures such as bulk water transfer, regional water supply schemes, rainwater harvesting and rejuvenation of water bodies. It also noted that the Union Cabinet has approved the extension of the Jal Jeevan Mission till December 2028 under JJM 2.0, although no new piped water supply schemes will be taken up under the restructured programme except in specified tribal areas as per existing guidelines.
