The Union Minister of Jal Shakti chaired a virtual meeting with Ministers of Public Health Engineering and Panchayati Raj Departments of States and Union Territories to outline the implementation roadmap for Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0. He released the Sujal Gaon ID, a scheme-based unique digital identifier that enables comprehensive digital mapping of rural piped water supply assets and brings rural water systems onto a unified national platform. So far 0.164 million (mn) Sujal Gaon IDs have been created across 31 States/UTs, linked to 67,000 Sujalam Bharat IDs, and each Sujalam Bharat identifier integrates infrastructure and service area records.

The cabinet has approved an extension of Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 up to December 2028 with an enhanced financial outlay. The Mission’s total allocation has been increased from Rs 3,600 billion (bn) to Rs 8,690 billion (bn). The revised funding is intended to focus on sustainability, service delivery and sectoral reforms while making central assistance conditional on milestone-based implementation and structural changes.

States were reminded that water is a state subject and that timely completion of schemes and strict adherence to approved technical specifications and expenditure limits are essential. Any expenditure arising from oversized or non-compliant works will be borne by the respective State Governments. The release of central funds will require signing of an MoU, creation of Sujal Gaon IDs for complete digital mapping, timely financial reconciliation and notification of State operation and maintenance policies.

Implementation will be anchored in Gram Panchayat-led governance with strengthened operation and maintenance arrangements and community participation central to long-term functionality. The national digital architecture Sujalam Bharat will enable source-to-tap mapping, real-time monitoring and evidence-based decision making, while village-level service assessment will be supported by Jal Seva Aankalan and citizen oversight through the Meri Panchayat application. The Mission aims to reduce drudgery, improve public health and create rural employment as part of the drive to achieve universal tap water coverage by December 2028.