Water Planning Has To Be Integrated Across Ministries To Ensure Long-Term Sustainability

Behind the budgetary surge lies a deeper crisis of implementation, inter-governmental coordination, and accountability, which continues to threaten water security for millions

In the 2025-26 Union Budget, the Ministry of Jal Shakti was allocated Rs 99,503 crore—a 93 per cent jump over the revised estimate for the previous year, reflecting a renewed push towards addressing India’s escalating water challenges.

But behind the budgetary surge lies a deeper crisis of implementation, inter-governmental coordination, and accountability, which continues to threaten water security for millions.

Budgetary surge, limited delivery:

The Ministry operates primarily through two departments: the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) and the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR).

The DDWS received the lion’s share—Rs 74,226 crore—of the total outlay, nearly three times the revised estimate of 2024-25. Within this, Rs 67,000 crore was earmarked for the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), a 195 per cent increase over the revised spending of Rs 22,694 crore in the previous year. Yet, JJM’s disbursement pattern tells a story of massive under-utilisation: only 32 per cent of the budgeted amount was actually spent in 2024-25.

This mismatch stems largely from states’ inability to match the Centre’s contribution. Only 31 per cent of the Centre’s share under JJM was released in 2024-25, owing to delayed state fund releases and low fund utilisation. Some states like Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have consistently reported high unspent balances (Rs 279 crore and Rs 182 crore, respectively), raising concerns about absorptive capacity.

Access eludes millions:

Launched to provide Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTCs) to all 19 crore rural households by 2024, JJM has missed its target. As of January 2025, only 15 crore households (80 per cent) have been covered, subsequent to which the mission has been extended to 2028. More worrying is that a 2022 functionality assessment revealed that only 62 per cent of these households had fully functional tap connections—defined as having adequate quantity, regularity, and quality.

Disparities across states are stark. Kerala, for example, reported only 54 per cent coverage, with poor scores on potability—just 53 per cent of households receiving water that met quality standards. Nationally, 3.3 lakh (five per cent) of the 66 lakh water samples tested in 2024-25 were contaminated, yet remedial action was taken in only 59 per cent of these cases.

Toilets built, but verification is weak:

While 96 per cent of villages are self-declared as ODF Plus under SBM-G Phase II, only 44 per cent have undergone third-party verification. The mission, which received Rs 7,192 crore for 2025-26—the same as the previous year—has seen stagnating fund releases: less than 50 per cent of the Centre’s allocation was released between 2020-21 and 2022-23.

Needless to say, many implementation challenges remain. A 2023-24 review noted that in 14 states, the majority of toilets are still single-pit, despite Phase I’s push for twin-pit retrofitting. Plastic waste management, a key SBM-G component, lags severely—13 states, including Haryana and Gujarat, reported zero operational Plastic Waste Management Units (PWMUs) as of December 2024.

Irrigation: Delays and overruns:

The DoWR was allocated Rs25,277 crore in 2025-26—17 per cent higher than the revised estimates of the previous year. The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY), meant to expand irrigation coverage, saw Rs 8,260 crore allocated. However, only 48 per cent of the 15 million hectare irrigation potential under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) has been achieved as of March 2023. Delays ranging from 1 to 18 years and cost overruns up to three times the original estimates have plagued implementation.

Har Khet Ko Pani, another PMKSY sub-scheme, shows that only 55 per cent of its 10,642 projects have been completed, highlighting persistent challenges in rural irrigation infrastructure.

Groundwater: The silent crisis:

India extracts 246 billion cubic meters of groundwater annually—60 per cent of the total available. Groundwater powers 90 per cent of rural and 50 per cent of urban drinking water and 90 per cent of irrigation. Yet, 16 states and UTs report alarming extraction rates above 100 per cent, with Punjab and Rajasthan at 157 per cent and 150 per cent respectively.

The Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABY), a Rs 6,000 crore community-led scheme to improve groundwater management, has shown mixed results. As of February 2025, only 57 per cent of funds had been released, and just 48 per cent were utilised. While indicators like the number of water security plans (8,220) and public disclosures (19,798) surpassed targets, groundwater depletion rates have improved in only 21 per cent of target blocks.

Polluted rivers, unspent funds:

Launched in 2014 to rejuvenate the Ganga, Namami Gange continues to underperform. Only 69 per cent of the allocated funds have been used so far. Despite targeting 7,000 MLD sewage treatment capacity by 2026, only 52 per cent has been achieved, with untreated sewage still being discharged into the river from 97 towns.

A moe worrying fact is that industrial pollution remains rampant in the contry. Almost 450 out of 2,700 Grossly Polluting Industries along the Ganga remain non-compliant with discharge norms. The Clean Ganga Fund, with a corpus of Rs 876 crore, remains largely unutilised, with just Rs 383 crore sanctioned since inception.

The coordination conundrum:

India’s per capita water availability dropped to 1,486 cubic metres in 2021—below the 1,700 threshold for water stress. The country faces a structural paradox: high budgetary commitments but weak outcomes due to fractured water governance across central, state, and local levels. Ministries operate in silos, coordination is minimal, and data sharing is inconsistent.

The Mihir Shah Committee in 2016 had proposed a unified National Water Commission to integrate planning across surface and groundwater.

Nine years on, this recommendation remains unfulfilled. To address these systemic gaps, India must link fund releases to performance and independently verified outcomes rather than mere financial absorption.

Strengthening state capacity through conditional grants tied to institutional reforms and the deployment of real-time monitoring systems is equally essential. Ensuring rigorous third-party verification of both infrastructure delivery and water quality will help build trust and accountability. Water planning needs to be integrated across ministries under a unified institutional framework such as a National Water Commission.

Finally, rationalising agricultural water use—particularly by reassessing policies on free electricity and promoting a shift away from water-intensive crops—will be crucial for long-term sustainability.

Water security cannot rest on financial allocations alone. It demands governance reforms, technological innovation, and political will. Otherwise, even Rs one lakh crore will flow into a leaky bucket.

(Souryabrata Mohapatra is an assistant professor at IIT Jodhpur, and Dayakar Peddi is an assistant professor at GIPE Pune. Views are personal)