BHUBANESWAR: The state has not only missed the Jal Jeevan Mission’s target of providing piped drinking water to every rural household by 2024 but still struggling to turn tap connection into reliable water supply with nearly 20 lakh households remained unconnected as on date.
The performance audit of Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Supply department by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) revealed a 31 per cent shortfall in providing functional household tap connections (FHTCs) against the targets fixed for 2020-24.
The gap persists despite a massive financial push under the mission. The state mobilised Rs 14,534.59 crore during 2019-24, including Rs 7,343.68 crore from the Centre, of which Rs 13,568.78 crore was utilised.
The audit also exposed serious delays in execution of mega water supply projects. Of the 207 projects taken up by the state between 2019 and 2024, only two had been completed by June 2024 in four of the five test-checked districts of Balasore, Bargarh, Kandhamal, Malkangiri and Puri.
“In four test-checked districts, none of the mega projects had been completed, while work on such projects in Puri had not even started by September 2024,” the report said.
Before the launch of JJM in August 2019, only 3.11 lakh rural households in Odisha had been covered under different piped water schemes. The coverage increased substantially thereafter with 64.71 lakh of the 88.68 lakh rural households having FHTCs by March 2024. However, the audit found that the state missed its targets by 25.25 lakh connections during 2020-24.
As per the latest data, 19,59,793 (22.12 per cent of total households) are still without tap water. The worst performance was recorded in 2022-23 when only 10.82 lakh households were covered against the target of 25.31 lakh, a shortfall of 57.25 per cent. The audit found that out of 4,407 projects sanctioned (including mega water supply projects, single village scheme and multi-village scheme), only 1,531 projects (35 per cent) had been completed in the five districts. Malkangiri recorded the lowest achievement at 11.20 per cent.
The audit also found a discrepancy in official data. While the JJM portal showed 26.28 lakh households with tap connections, departmental records showed only 25.64 lakh, indicating an over-reporting of 64,000 households or 2.49 per cent.
For many beneficiaries, even a tap connection did not ensure adequate water. As many as 298 beneficiaries in 25 villages reported insufficient water for drinking, cooking and other domestic needs. Failed water sources, irregular power supply and non-construction of overhead tanks were among the reasons.