Jal Jeevan Mission hits financial roadblock in Maharashtra as Centre halts funds since October 2024, ET Infra
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ETInfra
Maharashtra's ongoing efforts to provide safe drinking water to rural households under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) have run into a major financial roadblock , as central funding for the scheme has not been received since October 2024.This revelation came to light in the Legislative Council through a written reply by Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Gulabrao Patil. With the Centre's withdrawal, the entire burden of funding the scheme falls on the state government.Minister Patil informed the Council that out of a total of 51,558 sanctioned JJM schemes, 26,009 are still in progress. He stated that the state government has allocated ₹2483.58 crore to ensure the continuity of these ongoing projects. The issue was brought forth by several members, including Congress MLCs Pradnya Satav and Satej Patil.Adding to the discussion, Minister of State Meghana Sakore-Bordikar, present in the council, assured that the state is actively pursuing the release of funds from the central government. To prevent any halt in the ongoing works, the state has further committed an additional ₹3,913 crore for the fiscal year 2025-26.The state government's reply acknowledged that the pace of JJM works has been impacted by various challenges, including land unavailability, local opposition, delays in obtaining permissions from different departments, contractor issues, failure of water sources, and crucially, a lack of funds.The reply specifically highlighted that the ₹2,483.58 crore released by the Maharashtra government was a 'special case' due to the absence of central funds. It was also revealed that three letters have been sent to the Union Jal Shakti Ministry regarding the release of funds, and a meeting with the Union Minister has also taken place.JJM, a flagship initiative of the Union government, aims to provide every rural household in India with safe and adequate drinking water through individual tap connections. Maharashtra has so far spent approximately ₹31,374 crore on the scheme.Despite the funding challenges, the state government claims significant progress, with tap connections increasing from an earlier 33 per cent to 88.36 per cent, with the completion of 15,537 schemes.
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