The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation convened its fourth virtual consultation with states and Union Territories after the Departmental Summit on Water 2026. That summit took place on 1-2 September 2026. The meeting examined how Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 could work with 16th Finance Commission grants to sustain rural drinking-water services through local planning, stronger water sources and financial coordination.
Participants included senior state public-health engineering and rural-water officials, Panchayati Raj departments, central ministries responsible for Panchayati Raj and rural development, and the National Informatics Centre. Karnataka, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh presented experience from their water systems. Their contributions covered maintenance, community involvement and the institutional arrangements needed to turn grants into dependable services.
DDWS Secretary Ashok K. K. Meena said the extension of JJM 2.0 required a stronger emphasis on functioning systems, service quality and sustainability. Success should not be measured by infrastructure alone, he said. The practical test is whether households continue receiving safe and reliable drinking water from assets that are maintained and supported by viable finances.
Meena placed Gram Panchayats at the centre of this approach, referring to the 73rd Constitutional Amendment and local-government responsibilities for water and sanitation. He said Panchayats must lead annual operation-and-maintenance planning, mobilise local resources and oversee service delivery. Clear accountability for infrastructure should accompany the authority to manage it, including systems created through JJM and other programmes.
Discussing the 16th Finance Commission framework, the secretary described tied grants as an opportunity to strengthen basic services. He said water and sanitation form a substantial part of the rural-local-body support recommended by the 16th Finance Commission. Priorities should include maintaining existing assets, sustaining sources, managing water quality and developing local capacity, particularly where installed systems already need operating support.
He organised the financing discussion around effective use of available Finance Commission grants, coordination with other schemes and programmes, and progressively stronger user-charge collection. These funding approaches were presented as complementary. The aim is to support recurring service costs through a planned mix of resources and connect spending decisions with the continuing needs of local water systems.
States and Panchayats were encouraged to learn from revenue arrangements already used elsewhere. Meena said annual plans must cover repairs, leaks, pumps, chlorination, electricity, water-quality surveillance and the staff required to keep services running. Water and sanitation planning should be considered together, he added, as local bodies also take on greater responsibility for waste and sanitation systems.
Training was another priority. The secretary asked states to use support from the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan and other programmes to prepare elected representatives and local staff for their duties. Maintenance manuals should be available in local languages, with clear explanations of permitted activities, available funding and reporting obligations. This would help Panchayats apply the grant framework in everyday management.
He called for closer working relationships among rural-water departments, Panchayati Raj institutions and rural-development departments at every administrative level. JJM 2.0, VB-G RAM G and the 16th Finance Commission cycle create an opportunity for integrated planning, he said. Coordinating these programmes should connect resource decisions with implementation responsibilities and longer-term governance of village water services.
NJJM Deputy Secretary Kritika Kulhari explained the structure of 16th Finance Commission grants, including release conditions, permitted uses and reporting. The presentation put total rural-local-body allocations under the 16th Finance Commission above ₹4.35 lakh crore, with almost ₹1.74 lakh crore for water management and sanitation during the award period. Existing assets, preventive maintenance, lifecycle planning, community ownership and digital accountability were highlighted.
Vipul Ujwal of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj connected maintenance needs with Gram Panchayat Development Plans. His presentation used the requirements, resources and responsibilities approach: identify service gaps, estimate annual costs, assess available funds and place those priorities in the local plan. He also discussed own-source revenue, user charges and performance-linked support as ways to strengthen Panchayat finances and sustain service delivery.
NIC’s technical session explained how eGramSwaraj can link plans with implementation, asset records, geo-tagging, expenditure reports and monitoring. Integration with the Public Financial Management System and departmental databases was discussed as a way to improve transparency. The presentation focused on consistent digital records that enable local bodies and departments to follow Finance Commission-funded activities and account for their use.
Karnataka described Jala Sankalana, JalaAasthi and Jeevajala as parts of its approach to managing water assets and services. GIS records, monitoring, community participation and evidence-based maintenance planning support water budgeting and tariff collection. The state also discussed its coordinated rural-development and Panchayat framework, saying shared administrative work, defined responsibilities and sustained community engagement help align grants with local needs and operating costs.
Odisha presented a model linking rural development, Panchayati Raj and drinking-water departments. Its examples included budgeting from local needs, mechanic training, digital monitoring, solarisation, automation and connected devices. The state said Finance Commission support, state resources and community contributions can be combined within an integrated maintenance framework. Gram Panchayat involvement, local technical capacity and clear accountability were presented as key to reliable service.
Madhya Pradesh described its O&M Rules, 2026, and the use of multiple funding sources for water and sanitation. The state discussed simpler procurement, district WASH technical committees, structured training and digital user-charge collection. It also highlighted the technical preparation of engineers and Panchayat representatives. Finance Commission grants, state grants, local receipts and user charges were considered together when planning recurring expenditure.
In closing, NJJM Additional Secretary and Mission Director Kamal Kishore Soan called for stronger Panchayat ownership of rural water systems. States were asked to complete compliance work, strengthen development-plan-based budgeting and improve collection arrangements. He urged effective use of both 15th and 16th Finance Commission resources to keep the infrastructure delivering services and establish durable local governance.
Soan also sought intensive training for Panchayat representatives, secretaries, sarpanches and technical personnel, alongside prompt resolution of eGramSwaraj access and reporting problems. Regional conferences planned for November 2026 are intended to assess preparedness and implementation challenges. They will bring together the departments responsible for drinking water, sanitation, Panchayati Raj and rural development to improve coordination.
The consultation ended with a shared emphasis on locally led planning, dependable operating finance and cooperation across departments. Its central concern was the service that households receive from existing investments. Centre and state participants committed to stronger Panchayat involvement and more sustainable management so that rural drinking-water and sanitation systems remain reliable, continuous and responsive to communities.