Only eligible states to get funds to extend Jal Jeevan projects

The Union government has decided to extend the Jal Jeevan Mission till 2028 from 2024 earlier but it will not pay for “additional liabilities” outside the scope of the flagship drinking-water programme, two people aware of the matter said.

- Zia Haq and Saurabha Kulshreshtha

Federal funding for the remainder of the programme, which seeks to connect each of the country’s 193.6 million rural households with piped water, will be vetted and only eligible states and projects will receive grants from the Centre, states have been told. Currently, 81% of these households have been reported as covered so far.

Costs related to drinking-water projects, which are “inadmissible” and don’t conform to operational guidelines, will not be funded, one of the people said. Also, federal funds will not be provided if the source of water for a project, often large lakes and natural reservoirs, is not “sustainable”, the person added.