JAIPUR: Rajasthan failed to utilise more than 70% of the Central funds allocated under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), and the scheme’s implementation was marred by irregular payments, poor quality checks and procedural lapses, according to a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report.
Rajasthan had 1,07,75,281 rural households when the JJM was launched on August 15, 2019. Of these, 11,68,553 households, or 10.84%, had tap-water connections, leaving 96,06,728 households to be covered under the scheme. As of January 2025, tap connections had been provided to 47,65,980 households, or 49.61%, the report said. The audit, covering August 2019 to March 2024, found that Rs 29,145.92 crore of the total allocation of Rs 41,414.24 crore remained unutilised.
State laboratories could test water samples for only 41 of the 78 prescribed quality parameters and lacked facilities to detect radioactive and toxicological contaminants. District-level laboratories could test for only 9 to 22 of the 34 prescribed parameters.
The CAG also questioned the use of JJM funds for foundation-stone-laying ceremonies.
It attributed the slow implementation to systemic shortcomings, including repeated tender cancellations and delays in awarding contracts for regional water-supply projects. The report rejected as “untenable” the contention that the Russia-Ukraine war had contributed to the delays.
Field verification of selected projects uncovered irregular payments totalling Rs 7.07 crore against bills that were allegedly fake, missing, cancelled or reused. The report highlighted lapses in quality control. Contractors working on 26 regional water supply schemes received payments of Rs 122.31 crore without safety validation. The department initiated 511 transactions worth Rs 133.22 crore using incorrect beneficiary names and bank account details.