India, June 3 -- The Central Government on Tuesday signed agreements with the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Nagaland and the Union Territory of Puducherry to strengthen rural drinking water supply systems under Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0.

The Memoranda of Understanding were signed during separate virtual meetings attended by Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil, Minister of State V Somanna and chief ministers of the respective states and Union Territory.

The agreements sought to institutionalise a model of rural water governance led by gram panchayats and were service-based and community-centred. The model aims to focus on the sustainability, quality, operation and maintenance, and community ownership of rural water supp...