New Delhi, Mar 27: The Jal Shakti ministry on Friday signed an MoU with the Meghalaya government to improve the availability of clean and safe tap water in rural areas of the north-eastern state under the National Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).
With this, Meghalaya became the 12th state in the country to sign the reform-linked agreement under the Centre’s Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0, which was approved by the Union Cabinet on March 10, 2026.
Union Minister for Jal Shakti CR Patil expressed confidence that Meghalaya will soon join the list of states that have achieved 100 per cent tap water coverage, reflecting its commitment to reforms and assured water service delivery.
Patil noted that Meghalaya has made commendable progress under the Mission, achieving 83 per cent coverage, and urged the state government to accelerate implementation and complete the remaining work at the earliest.
The minister said that although the original deadline for the JJM was May 2024, it has been extended till December 2028 to provide 100 per cent tap water coverage and sanitation across the country.
He further said that the Union cabinet has approved an additional outlay of Rs 1.51 lakh crore for the Mission, with around Rs 67,300 crore allocated in the Union Budget for 2025–26.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said that the state has adopted a comprehensive Water Policy as early as 2019 and has constituted a climate council with active involvement of multiple departments.
He said all departments are working together in a holistic manner to address water-related issues, including awareness generation, soil conservation and other interventions, and acknowledged the challenges of operation and maintenance.
The chief minister said the state government is fully prepared to take maximum responsibility and is committed to implementing all provisions of the MoU in close coordination with the Centre to ensure not only the quantity but also the quality and sustainability of water supply to every household.
He stated that Meghalaya, which was once among the lowest in the country in terms of rural tap water coverage, has now achieved 83.59 per cent coverage under Jal Jeevan Mission since its launch.
The reform-linked MoU seeks to ensure that every rural household has access to drinking water supply in adequate quantity and of prescribed quality on a regular basis through strengthened community participation, or Jan Bhagidari.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Patil and Minister of State for Jal Shakti V Somanna here, while Meghalaya CM joined the event through video conference. Meghalaya Public Health Engineering (PHE) Minister Marcuise N Marak, along with senior officials from both the ministry and the state government, was also present.
The MoU was signed and exchanged between Swati Meena Naik, joint secretary (Water), the Ministry’s department of drinking water and sanitation (DDWS) and Praveen Bakshi, commissioner and secretary, Meghalaya’s PHE department.
DDWS secretary Ashok KK Meena stressed that the MoU prioritises not just infrastructure creation but sustainable services managed at the grassroots level. He emphasised decentralisation and community ownership, with gram panchayats and village water and sanitation committees (VWSCs) being empowered to manage and operate in-village water supply systems. (PTI)
