Jammu, Mar 11: Forty-three projects worth Rs 423.86 crore were undertaken across the Public Health Engineering (PHE) and Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) sectors in J&K in 2025, with 874 villages getting certified under the Har Ghar Jal scheme in 2025-26, an official said on Wednesday.
“Under SASCI (Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment) works 2025–26, a total of 43 projects with an estimated cost of Rs 423.86 crore have been undertaken across the PHE and I&FC sectors in Jammu and Kashmir,” Jal Shakti Additional Chief Secretary Shaleen Kabra said while briefing Jal Shakti Minister Javed Rana.
Kabra, who spelt out the financial position of the department and the progress of projects being executed under the UT capex budget and centrally-sponsored schemes, said that as per the status of Har Ghar Jal certification of villages, 1,379 villages had been reported under the programme by February 21, 2026. “Of this target, 874 villages have been certified so far,” he said.
Kabra also stressed the need to minimise the gap between completed and operational schemes by ensuring the timely commissioning of finished projects so that the intended benefits reach the public without delay.
On the creation of in-village Rural Piped Water Supply Scheme (RPWSS) IDs, the official said that over 17,000 habitations are to be covered under the programme and directed the officers to accelerate the process to facilitate better monitoring and effective tracking of scheme implementation.
Regarding the UT Capex Budget 2025–26, he said that out of 762 works across different sectors, 551 have entered the execution stage while 161 have already been completed.
Up to 745 works—about 97 per cent—have received administrative approval, with 726 projects tendered and 644 allotted to executing agencies, he added.
Among the sectors, the Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) Jammu has taken up 523 projects, of which 364 are currently in progress, and 143 have been completed, he said.
In the Public Health Engineering (PHE) sector, work has commenced on 113 out of the 129 allotted projects in Jammu, while nine projects have already been completed in Kashmir.
Kabra further said that the department has taken several measures, such as the installation of backup power sources at critical PHE infrastructure, to address the issue of erratic power supply during the peak summer months.
As part of these efforts, 308 water supply schemes have already been equipped with backup power through DG sets to ensure uninterrupted water supply to consumers, he added.
