Jal Jeevan Mission hits funding roadblock in Maharashtra as Centre withdraws support

Hindustan Times

16 hours ago

New Delhi/Mumbai: Maharashtra's ambitious push to provide clean tap water to every rural household under the Jal Jeevan Mission has hit a major financial hurdle. With the Centre withdrawing its grant support for the flagship scheme, the state is now expected to bear the full cost of ongoing and future works—at a time when it is already struggling to clear pending bills worth ₹12,000 crore for completed projects. Thane, India - April 12, 2024 : Women carried water pots on their heads during a protest in Shahpur to protest against the water crisis in Shahpur taluk. Amid the growing water crisis, the number of villages affected by severe water shortages in Shahpur taluk has increased, with several housing projects in Shahpur taluk affected by the water crisis in Thane, in Thane, India, on Friday, April 12 2024. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo)
The Jal Jeevan Mission was launched in 2019 by the central government to provide functional tap water connections to all rural households by 2024. The Centre had approved a total outlay of ₹2.08 lakh crore for the scheme between 2019–20 and 2023–24, with states like Maharashtra receiving 50% of the funding as a central grant. The remainder was to be borne by the state.
In Maharashtra, a total of 51,558 rural water supply schemes were approved under the programme. While 25,549 projects have been completed over the past five years, over 50%—or 26,009 schemes—remain unfinished. Officials say that one of the biggest reasons for the delays is the acute shortage of funds. Now, the situation may worsen.
In a letter to states and Union territories on June 16, the Jal Shakti ministry said 'central grants-in-aid' towards extending the scheme would be released for 'eligible states only after getting approval from the competent authority.' The ministry is also conducting 'vigorous checks' on ongoing and proposed projects in various states to verify they comply with rules, the people cited above said.
The Centre will provide money to the extent of what constitutes 'central liability' as defined under the scheme, which is funded in a 50:50 ratio between the Centre and states, one of the people cited above said.
The Centre's letter said the total central outlay for the scheme from 2019-20 to 2023-24 stood at ₹2.08 lakh crore and the Centre had spent ₹1.85 lakh crore, with a balance of ₹22,694 crore for 2024-25. The finance ministry's department of expenditure had cleared the spending of the balance till March 2025 and 'almost the entire available fund was utilised', the letter said. All additional expenditure beyond this limit will have to be borne by states, the Centre said.
'Water being a state subject, states and Union territories may continue the implementation of ongoing works from their own resources,' the letter said.
In Maharashtra, state government officials confirmed that the Centre had stopped releasing funds for the flagship scheme since October 2024. The state is now expected to bear the full cost of ongoing and future works, at a time when it is already struggling to clear pending bills worth ₹12,000 crore for completed projects under the scheme. 'Of the 26,009 pending projects, revised cost estimates for 7,098 projects have recently been approved. But without fresh funds, implementation will be severely impacted,' a senior official from the Maharashtra water supply department said.
Water Supply Minister Gulabrao Patil informed the Legislative Council on Monday that the Centre has not released any funds to Maharashtra under the Jal Jeevan Mission since October 2024. In a written reply to a question on the progress of the scheme, Patil said, 'The state has not received any funds from the central government since October 2024. To ensure ongoing projects are not stalled, the state government has sanctioned ₹2,483 crore as a special provision.'
Milind Bhosale, president of the Maharashtra State Contractors' Association, a representative body for contractors working on various projects in the state, voiced strong concerns. 'If the government couldn't clear our dues when central grants were available, how will it fund these schemes entirely on its own now? This is alarming,' he said. The association has reached out to BJP leader Girish Mahajan, seeking a meeting with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to press for immediate intervention.