THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The implementation of centrally sponsored scheme Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in the State has come to a standstill as the contractors have stopped the works after the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) failed to meet the arrears to the tune of Rs 4874 crore.
The JJIM aims to provide functional household tap connections to every rural household. The arrears are for the period of the last 18 months.
As per the data of KWA till April 30, 2025, the authority has to pay Rs 4874 crore to the contractors. According to the project, both the Centre and the State have to spend equal amounts
Though the deadline of the project had ended in 2024, it is now extended till 2028. However, the central government had only disbursed Rs 5508.92 crore compared to Rs 5951.89 crore released by the State.
Till April 30, a total works worth of Rs 44718.78 crore had been given administrative sanction. The works have been implemented through government contractors and contractors approved by the KWA.
According to an RTI reply, provided by the KWA for the year 2025-2026, the central government has not allocated any amount for the project as the budget allocation.
However, the State has allocated Rs 500 crore in the state budget for the project. In the data provided by KWA, from the year 2020-21 to 2024-25 it was the State which had allocated more money for the project in the last two financial years.
"If the works had to be completed on deadline, the central government has to spend Rs 16848.47 crore and the State has to spend 16425.50 crore," Government Contractors Association state president Varghese Kannambally told TNIE.
There are around 800 contractors who have been engaged in the works related to Jal Jeevan Mission. They had been denied the money and now became bankrupt.
"The situation has occurred due to the administrative sanction provided without allocating funds for the works and inviting the tender. The contractors are now facing actions from the banks and other financial institutions," he said.
The works of the JJIM projects in the State had stalled by mid- February 2025. In the website of KWA in the weekly progress report the last month of update was recorded as February.
In March, after the contractors went on strike, a meeting was called by the Irrigation Minister Roshi Augustin. It was assured that the arrear amount would be disbursed through loans.
"The minister gave an assurance that Rs 2,000 crore would be disbursed in March itself. However, it did not materialise. Now all the work has been stalled. If the state government did not disburse the arrear amount and give a clear assurance about the rest of the amount, we would approach the judiciary," Varghese Kannambally said.
Meanwhile, Minister Roshi Augustine told TNIE that the issue would be resolved in June- July. "The state government will fully disburse the arrear amount," he added.