Jal Jeevan Mission: Audit blames Karnataka's flaws for low federal funding

Bengaluru: Karnataka received less than half of Rs 24,819 crore allocated under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) due to the state government's "inability" to utilise funds that were already released, the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) said Tuesday.

The CAG report on the implementation of JJM for the 2019-24 period was tabled in the Assembly.

Between 2019 and 2024, Karnataka received central grants of Rs 11,189.37 crore, which is 45 per cent of the allocation.

"The non-receipt of balance assistance is attributable to the fact that the state failed to utilise the available funds and there were delays ranging from 3-9 months in submission of utilisation certificates and audited accounts by the state government," the audit said.

This audit observation could be a setback to the governing Congress, which attacked the union government for not releasing funds under JJM.

"The non-utilisation of funds impacted the state's performance under JJM as it failed to achieve the targets for functional household tap connections (FHTC). The underperformance rendered the state ineligible for performance-based additional funds and a missed opportunity to access supplementary financial resources," the report stated.

Out of 72.14 lakh households targeted, tap water connections were provided to 47.62 lakh households (66 per cent) till November 2024. This was due to slow tendering, entrustment of works without ensuring land availability and delayed approvals, the audit found.

In one case, the work of providing tap water connections to 435 households at Inchur, Bhalki (Bidar) was entrusted to a contractor for Rs 146 lakh with a completion target of July 2024. The work could not be commenced as land for the construction of an overhead tank was not handed over to the contractor. After incurring an expenditure of Rs 60 lakh towards the construction of open well and laying of pipes, the entire work was abandoned.

JJM mandates community contribution for in-village infrastructure. Against the estimated Rs 1,594 crore, only Rs 22.57 crore was collected. This created additional financial burden on the state, the CAG said.

Impact

JJM helped reduce dropout rates among upper primary school-going girls while decreasing drudgery of women. "However, its impact on employment and public health remains limited," the audit stated.