Patronage Pipeline

Bihar's showpiece scheme to ensure drinking water for the poor through taps right at their homes, Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal, launched by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar exactly five years ago, is a success on many counts — it has covered over 95% of the target of 1.08 lakh panchayat wards. But on the ground, the implementation of the scheme has also been marked by political patronage to a sweeping set of beneficiaries that corrodes Nitish’s message of good governance, a four-month-long investigation by The Indian Express has revealed.