The Government has extended the 100% water access to Rural household’s completion date by 2028 with enhanced outlay. The Finance Minister has also located Rs 67000 crores in the budget during 2025-26 for water and sanitation schemes under Jal Jeevan Mission programme which is less than the last year’s BE 2024-25, although higher than RE 2024-25.
In 2019, the Government announced the completion of safe and universal rural water access by 2024. As of now there are about 19 crore rural households and about 80% households were given pipe water connection for 55 Ipcd. To complete the whole process, the Government has extended the Har Ghar Jal program of JJM to 2028,
The budget proposal in water sector is very much welcome and this will help India’s achievement to UN Sustainable Development Goal 6.1 regarding safe and universal water access, well before 2030.
The Finance Minister announced the creation of a Urban Challenge Fund (Rs 1 lack crore) for development of cities, water and sanitation, increase the budge of National Ganga Plan by 18% during 2025-26 and announced Kosi Canal implementation (which may provide annual irrigation of 2.99 lakhs hectare in Bihar and together 24 million cubic meters of domestic and industrial water supply). The budget 2025-26, although referred to water access and sanitation aspects of water and sanitation management under Sustainable. Development Goals (SDGs) 6, it did not touch other SDG targets such as improving water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals, halving proportion of untreated waste water and increasing recycling and safe water reuse, increasing substantially water use efficiency across all water sectors, implementing integrated water resource management at all levels, and restoring water related ecosystems including wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes. These are Sustainable Development Goals 6 relating to water and sanitation which is to be achieved by every country by 2030.
By Syamal Sarkar, Distinguished fellow & Director Water Resources Division, TERI
