Under the Union government’s ambitious plan, the Jal Jeevan Mission, 80 per cent of the country’s rural population has been provided with tap water for drinking since 2019.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the eighth budget in Parliament on February 1, 2025, stated that the mission has been extended until 2028. A total provision of Rs 67,000 crore has been allocated for the Jal Jeevan Mission under the Union Budget for 2025-26. This provision is 195 per cent higher than the revised budget allocation of Rs 29,916.8 crore for the financial year 2024-25.
However, it is four per cent less than the original budget provision of Rs 70,162.90 crore for the previous financial year. The budget data reveals that after making the provision, the government reduced the revised estimate by 67 per cent.
Additionally, for the Rural Clean India Mission (Gramin Swachh Bharat Mission), Rs 7,192 crore has been allocated, which is the same as the previous year.
The Finance Minister also announced the creation of an Urban Challenge Fund worth Rs 1 lakh crore to implement announcements made for the development of cities and water and sanitation in the budget. This fund is being provided for the first time under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
The new budget includes the announcement of the Western Kosi Canal Extension, Renovation, and Modernization (ERM) project, which is expected to benefit over 50,000 hectares of agricultural land in Mithilanchal, providing vital irrigation support to local farmers.