Page 30 - NIS English 1-15 April, 2026

UNION CABINET DECISIONS

Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0

Three Major Connectivity Projects Also Approved

As a result of the Central Government’s commitment to public welfare, the Union Cabinet
has approved Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0. This decision will not only ensure access to clean
drinking water through taps for rural families but will also improve water management.
The Cabinet also approved several other important proposals, including three major
connectivity projects: the West Bengal-Jharkhand Multi-Tracking Rail Project, the Jewar-
Delhi NCR Greenfield Corridor, and the 4-lane Ujjain-Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. These
projects will boost employment, tourism, and industry in these areas...

DECISION: Approval to extend the Jal Jeevan Mission DECISION: Approval for the construction
(JJM) until December 2028. It will be restructured as of the 4-laning of the Badnawar-Petla-
JJM 2.0 by increasing the budget. wad-Thandla-Timarwani section of the
IMPACT: The Cabinet has approved the enhancement of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway (NH-752D)
the total outlay to Rs. 8.69 lakh crore with total central as- in Madhya Pradesh on a hybrid annuity
sistance of Rs. 3.59 lakh crore, enhanced from the Rs. 2.08 mode at a cost of Rs. 3,839.42 crore.
lakh crore approved in 2019-20, i.e., an additional central IMPACT: The approved corridor will
share of Rs. 1.51 lakh crore. connect Ujjain to the Timarwani Inter-

n The mission will be restructured to focus not just on change on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway
(DME). The primary purpose of the
infrastructure but also on providing clean drinking proposed four-lane project corridor is to
water to people. This will strengthen drinking water improve travel efficiency and is expected to
management and institutional mechanisms to ensure a reduce travel time by approx. one hour. The
sustainable drinking water supply in rural areas. proposed project will provide high-speed
n A uniform national digital framework called ‘Sujalam connectivity. It is designed for improved
Bharat’ will be implemented to digitally map the drink- safety and seamless traffic flow. It will also
ing water supply system from source to tap across the reduce congestion and operational costs.
country. The project will strengthen infrastructure in
n Under JJM 2.0, the target is to provide tap water con- the region and further accelerate the overall
nections to all 19.36 crore rural households across the economic development of Dhar and Jhabua
country by December 2028. in Madhya Pradesh.

28 NEW INDIA SAMACHAR || April 1-15, 2026