Why in news
- More than 1,850 Gram Panchayats across India observed Jal Arpan on Gandhi Jayanti under Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0.
Key terms
Jal Arpan
A reform module for transferring completed rural water supply systems to Gram Panchayats.
VWSC
Village Water and Sanitation Committee tasked with managing local water schemes.
Har Ghar Jal
Certification granted to villages providing functional household tap connections to every home.
Jal Jeevan Mission
Central flagship scheme delivering tap water supply to rural households.
What is Jal Arpan?
- A structural reform under Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 designed to hand over completed rural piped water schemes to local communities.
- Transfers operational management and maintenance of drinking water infrastructure to Gram Panchayats and Village Water & Sanitation Committees.
Key operational features
- Enables digital generation of Har Ghar Jal certificates in regional languages via a dedicated online portal module.
- Supports certification and documentation in 19 Indian languages including Hindi, English, Assamese, Odia, and Tamil.
Why it matters
- Shifts rural water management from supply-side infrastructure creation to community-led long-term asset operation.
- Strengthens democratic decentralisation under the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act by empowering Gram Sabhas.
Prelims facts
- Jal Arpan formalises the transfer of water supply management to local Panchayats.
Mains discussion
- Evaluating community-led governance models in sustaining rural public utilities.
Source: PIB Press Release
Same topic · past papers
UPSC has asked this before
These previous-year questions sit on the same topic. Open one to practise the earlier ask.