Jal Shakti Minister C R Paatil.
Credit: X/@CRPaatil
New Delhi: Jal Shakti Minister C R Paatil on Thursday informed the Lok Sabha that the release of funds to Karnataka under the Jal Jeevan Mission had been delayed due to the non-submission of utilisation certificates by the state government.
Replying to Ballari Congress Lok Sabha member E Tukaram during Question Hour, the Minister said the Jal Shakti Ministry had repeatedly asked Karnataka to submit utilisation certificates for the funds released by the Centre and verification certificates for the implementation of the JJM scheme.
However, the state had not complied with the Ministry’s directions till date, he added.
The matter had also been brought to the notice of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar. Jal Shakti Ministry officials had raised the issue with state officials, and the Ministry’s team would hold further talks with Karnataka officials next week, Paatil said.
“The state has admitted that discrepancies have occurred in the utilisation of funds in some projects. Until we receive the utilisation and verification certificates, the release of the next instalment of funds is not possible,” he said.
The Minister assured that once the state submits the utilisation and field verification certificates, the entire balance amount would be released immediately.
Tukaram pointed out that the Ministry was yet to release Rs 13,000 crore to Karnataka under the scheme.
The Jal Jeevan Mission was announced by the NDA government in 2019 with the aim of providing safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections to all rural households in the country.
Minister of State for Jal Shakti V Somanna recently stated that Karnataka was lagging in the implementation of the scheme primarily because the state had not released its matching share corresponding to the funds allocated by the Centre. From 2019–20 to 2024–25, the Jal Shakti Ministry had allocated Rs 28,623.89 crore to Karnataka under the scheme.
However, the state could draw only Rs11,760 crore and spent just Rs 11,097.92 crore within the mission period. Due to the delayed submission of requisite documents, the state government was unable to utilise the entire allocated amount, Somanna had said.