3 min readMumbaiJun 26, 2026 07:15 PM IST
First published on: Jun 26, 2026 at 07:15 PM IST
Days after seeking supplementary grants worth Rs 97,000 crore in the state legislature, the Maharashtra Cabinet on Thursday approved an additional allocation of Rs 22,898 crore from the state’s own resources for the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), over and above its mandatory matching contribution to the Centre’s flagship rural drinking water scheme.
The decision is aimed at speeding up execution of water supply projects, particularly those nearing completion, while allowing the state to release funds in advance even before the Centre releases its share.
A senior government official said the Cabinet had approved the additional funding to bridge the gap between the Centre’s allocation and the actual requirement for completing projects.
“The total funds available for the scheme will be around Rs 44,000 crore. Of this, about Rs 11,000 crore will come from the Centre, the state will contribute an equal matching share, and the remaining Rs 22,898 crore will be borne entirely by the state,” the official said.
The move assumes significance as the state government had informed the legislature during the Winter Session last year that it had not received central funds for the Jal Jeevan Mission since October 2024 and was using its own resources to keep projects on track. While central funds are yet to be released, the official said the Centre has earmarked around Rs 6,000 crore for Maharashtra this financial year.
The additional allocation will be used for retrofitting existing schemes, revised water supply projects, water quality monitoring, Internet of Things (IoT)-based monitoring systems, electro-chlorination units and other support components. It will also cover community contributions required under the scheme through Finance Commission grants and other sources.
The Cabinet has prioritised projects that are close to completion. Nearly Rs 5,934 crore has been set aside for schemes that are 75-99 per cent complete, while Rs 3,769 crore will be spent on projects that have achieved physical completion but require funds for commissioning and final payments. Another Rs 680 crore has been earmarked for water quality monitoring and other support components.
The decision comes even as a large number of contractors await payments. In a written reply in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Gulabrao Patil said that of the nearly 51,560 Jal Jeevan Mission projects taken up in Maharashtra, 27,823 have been completed while the rest are under various stages of execution.
He informed the House that contractor bills worth about Rs 5,183 crore were pending at the district level at the end of May due to a shortage of funds.
The minister also said that since drinking water is a state subject, the Centre has advised states to advance their own share until central funds are released.
Accordingly, Maharashtra has already released Rs 4,831.87 crore as special grants over the past two financial years to ensure work on ongoing projects does not come to a halt.
The decision is aimed at speeding up execution of water supply projects, particularly those nearing completion, while allowing the state to release funds in advance even before the Centre releases its share. (File Photo) 
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