BENGALURU: Water quality monitoring and surveillance systems have been found severely deficient at all levels of administration in Karnataka, according to a Comprtroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission.
The report was tabled in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Tuesday. It revealed that 533 villages lacked women trained in using field test kits, raising concern over monitoring at the grassroots.
Taking objection to it, the report stated that retesting of contaminated samples was taken up only in 2023-24, covering just 18% of the cases.
It said none of the 31 district-level and 48 taluk-level laboratories had facilities to test samples for arsenic content. Only 17 district-level laboratories and four taluk-level laboratories had facilities to test samples for microbiological parameters such as total coliform and E. coli.
Not a single sample was sent to the designated state referral laboratory between 2019-20 and 2023-24. Moreover, remedial action on contaminated water sources was found to be inadequate.
The report further said independent audit testing conducted at the Karnataka State Pollution Control Laboratories showed that water quality met prescribed standards in only two of the 28 test-checked villages.
It said water testing across the state faced major delays with all 79 laboratories failing to meet the prescribed timelines of 24-48 hours. The turnaround time ranged from 9 to 75 days and up to 106 days in private empanelled labs, with Uttara Kannada reporting higher delays.
Referring to irregularities in bidding, it said as per the data analysis of 38,231 works finalised, 9,342 (around 24%) were awarded through single bidder. Further, many works were awarded to a single contractor without assessing the individual/firm’s capacity to execute multiple projects.
The CAG also found major lapses in planning, execution, financial management and water quality monitoring under the Jal Jeevan Mission in the state. As against a target of 72.14 lakh Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTCs), only 47.62 lakh were delivered. The report cited systemic issues such as delayed tendering, weak institutional mechanisms, poor fund control, and inadequate community engagement.
It called for urgent reforms to improve implementation, ensure efficient fund use, and achieve sustainable rural water supply.