Evaluate the role of Gram Panchayats in ensuring sustainability of rural drinking water supply schemes under JJM 2.0.

Article 243G with Item 11 of the Eleventh Schedule places drinking water within the Gram Panchayat's (GP) domain. JJM 2.0, approved by the Union Cabinet with an enhanced outlay of ₹8.69 lakh crore and extended to December 2028, shifts the mission from infrastructure creation to service delivery [1] — making the GP the pivot of sustainability rather than a passive beneficiary.

Strengths of the Gram Panchayat model

• Institutional mandate: Reform-Linked MoUs, such as those signed with Mizoram and Ladakh, explicitly mandate a GP-led, service-based and community-centred governance model [2].
• O&M ownership: Village Water & Sanitation Committees/Pani Samitis as GP sub-committees handle repair, tariff collection and greywater management — curing the "tap installed, no water" problem.
• Certification unit: JJM 2.0 targets certification of all GPs as 'Har Ghar Jal', with every village digitally mapped source-to-tap under the Sujalam Bharat framework [1].
• Local intelligence: GPs are best placed to protect sources in difficult terrain — Mizoram (99% physical progress) and Ladakh (98.18% coverage) face scattered habitations and harsh winters [2].
• Equity and Jan Bhagidari: community monitoring reduces elite capture and eases women's water drudgery.

Limitations

• Capacity deficit: weak technical staff, poor water-quality testing skills and low accounting capability at GP level.
• Fiscal fragility: tariff collection is politically difficult; GPs depend heavily on Finance Commission tied grants for recurring O&M.
• Uneven devolution: functions devolved without funds and functionaries; in UTs like Ladakh, GP institutions are comparatively thin.
• Source sustainability lies beyond GP boundaries — aquifers and springsheds need basin-level action.

Verdict: GPs are necessary but not sufficient. Their value is highest in demand management and O&M; source security requires convergence with Atal Bhujal Yojana and Jal Shakti Abhiyan. Pairing reform-linked funding with sustained capacity-building can make GPs genuine water utilities, advancing SDG-6 and the spirit of the 73rd Amendment.