Jal Jeevan Mission: No central funds received since October 2024, Maharashtra govt informs Legislative Council

The Maharashtra government said the pace of the works under Jal Jeevan Mission has slowed down due to the unavailability of land, opposition from locals, and various other factors.

Legislative Council that it has not received central funds for the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme since October 2024 and has been using funds from the state’s coffers to complete ongoing projects. (Express Photo)

The Maharashtra Government Monday informed the Legislative Council that it has not received central funds for the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme since October 2024 and has been using funds from the state’s coffers to complete ongoing projects. It also stated that 51,558 schemes have been sanctioned under the mission, out of which 26,009 are still ongoing.

In a written reply submitted to the Legislative Council, Maharashtra’s Water Supply and Sanitation Department informed that the state government has disbursed funds worth Rs 2,483.58 crore to complete ongoing schemes. “We are corresponding with the central government to release funds at the earliest. To ensure that ongoing works are not stopped, for the year 2025-26 we have decided to give additional funds worth Rs 3,913 crore,” said Meghana Sakore-Bordikar, Minister of State, Public Health.

The state government’s reply said the pace of the works undertaken as part of Jal Jeevan Mission has slowed down due to unavailability of land, opposition from locals, permissions required from different departments, delay from contractors, failure of sources and lack of funds.

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The reply stated that Rs 2,483.58 crore was released as a special case from the state government since the Centre had not released funds for the scheme. It mentioned that three letters were already sent to the Union Jal Shakti ministry to release funds, and a meeting was also held with the union minister.

The Jal Jeevan Mission envisions to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections to all households in rural India. The scheme refers to various components and initiatives implemented to ensure this aim. Till now, the state has spent around Rs 31,374 crore for various works in this regard. As per the government, the tap connections have now increased from 33 per cent to 88.36 per cent with the completion of 15,537 schemes.

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