NEW DELHI, Dec 26: The Jal Shakti Ministry has set 2025 as its new target to achieve the ambitious goals of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) and Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G), after missing the 2024 deadline to provide tap water connections to all rural households. The ministry also aims to ensure universal Open Defecation Free (ODF) Plus status for villages while advancing ecological restoration under the Namami Gange Programme.
As of now, over 15.37 crore rural households out of a total of 19.36 crore have been provided with tap water connections under JJM, but around four crore households remain without them. Jal Shakti Minister C R Paatil expressed confidence in achieving full coverage, highlighting the ministry’s ongoing coordination with lagging states and Union Territories. “All the four crore connections are at some level of completion, and though it is a state subject, we have urged all states and Union territories to accelerate their efforts,” Paatil said.
Eleven states and Union Territories have already achieved full rural tap water coverage, but larger states such as Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Kerala, and West Bengal are behind, with less than 60% coverage. The ministry aims to bridge these gaps by 2025, ensuring every household has access to clean drinking water.
Sanitation also remains a priority. Currently, 95% of India’s villages have declared themselves ODF Plus, encompassing toilet construction, solid-liquid waste management, and holistic sanitation. Uttar Pradesh leads with 93,947 ODF Plus villages, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Since SBM-G’s launch in 2014, over 11.76 crore individual household latrines have been built, improving rural hygiene infrastructure.
The ministry is confident that by 2025, all remaining villages will achieve ODF Plus status, further advancing the country’s sanitation goals. Additionally, under the Namami Gange Programme, ecological efforts have included reintroducing 1,428 gharials and 1,899 turtles into the Ganga and its tributaries, alongside wetland conservation initiatives in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The ministry aims to complete afforestation on 1,34,104 hectares of land within the Ganga basin by 2025 to strengthen ecological balance.
