Since August 2019, Government of India is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) – Har Ghar Jal, in partnership with States/ UTs including Tamil Nadu, to make provision of tap water connection to every rural household of the country for safe and adequate water supply. At the start of JJM in August 2019, only 3.23 crore (16.7%) rural households were reported to have tap water connections. So far, as reported by States/ UTs as on 26.11.2025, around 12.51 crore additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections under JJM. Thus, as on 25.11.2025, out of 19.36 crore rural households in the country, more than 15.74 crore (81.33%) rural households are reported to have tap water supply.

 

As reported by the state government of Tamil Nadu, at the start of JJM in the State on 15.08.2019, only 21.76 lakh (17.37%) rural households had tap water connections. Since then, around 90.16 lakh additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections. Thus, as on 26.11.2025, out of 125.26 lakh rural households in state, the provision of tap water supply is available to approximately 111.93 lakh (89.36%) rural households.

 

The details of fund allocation, fund drawn and reported fund utilization during the last three financial years (2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25) by the state of Tamil Nadu are as under:

 

(Amount in Rs. Crore)

Year	Central					Expenditure under State share
	Opening Balance	Allocation	Fund Drawn	Available Fund	Reported utilization
2022-23	534.30	4,015.00	872.96	1,407.26	593.71	664.36
2023-24	813.55	3,615.56	2,617.10	3,430.65	2,617.49	2,612.30
2024-25	813.15	2,438.89	731.67	1,544.82	1,333.23	3,343.47

Source: JJM-IMIS                                                                                         

 

As informed by the state government of Tamil Nadu, the challenges in implementation of JJM in state includes absence of perennial rivers, presence of extensive hard rock strata with less ground water sources and the fact that 57% of the blocks falls under over-exploited, critical and semi-critical categories and 3% in saline region. Further, CoVID-19 pandemic also impacted the pace of implementation of JJM.

To expedite the provision of tap water connections to all rural households in the state, concerted efforts have been made to impress the state government to accelerate the pace of implementation of JJM on ground. These include measures such as holding high level joint review meetings with the state government on regular basis and visits of multi-disciplinary teams from the department to highlight areas which need attention for expediting implementation in a mission mode to make provision of tap water supply to all households in timebound manner. This department has also held meetings with all the District Collectors of Tamil Nadu to review various aspects of implementation of JJM and to prioritize coverage in priority areas such as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) habitations, Aspirational districts, drought prone regions and other such areas.

Under JJM operational guidelines, provisions have been made for drinking water source development/ strengthening/ augmentation; and infrastructure for bulk transfer of water, treatment and distribution systems in water deficit drought-prone and desert areas without dependable ground water sources, apart from creation of in-village water supply infrastructure. States have also been advised for source recharging, viz. dedicated bore well recharge structures, rainwater recharge, rejuvenation of existing water bodies, reuse of greywater, etc., in convergence with other schemes such as MGNREGS, Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), 15th Finance Commission tied grants to RLBs/ PRIs, State schemes, CSR funds, etc.

A special initiative Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB) under Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA): Catch the rain (CTR) campaign has been launched on September 6, 2024, which aims to promote collaborative community-driven water conservation efforts and focuses on enhancing water management through low-cost, scientifically designed artificial recharge structures, ensuring active participation from local communities, industries, and other stakeholders.

The information was provided by THE MINISTER OF JAL SHAKTI SHRI C R PATIL in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

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AMK/ND

(Rajya Sabha S Q14)

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