PM Modi cracks whip on Jal Jeevan Mission irregularities; 7 states to pay Rs 129.27 cr in penalties

New Delhi: The Centre has slapped penalties to the tune of Rs 129.27 crore on seven states, the maximum on Gujarat, for irregularities in the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission following a directive from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to spare no one in the flagship initiative.

The Centre had launched the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in 2019 with the intention to provide tap water connections to every household in the country over a period of five years. The seven states from whom recoveries have been initiated are Tamil Nadu (Rs 3 lakh), Tripura (Rs 1.22 crore), Assam (Rs 5.08 lakh), Maharashtra (Rs 2.02 crore), Karnataka (Rs 1.01 crore) and Rajasthan (Rs 5.34 crore) besides Gujarat.

A senior official said the Centre has initiated proceedings to recover Rs 120.65 crore in penalties in the implementation of the JJM scheme from Gujarat and managed to recover Rs 6.65 crore.

Of the total Rs 129.27 crore in penalties, the government has recovered Rs 12.95 crore so far.

The prime minister has directed strict monitoring of the scheme and adopted zero tolerance to any financial, procedural and quality-related violations.

"Transparency and accountability continue to remain the non-negotiable pillars of the Mission, as emphasised by the prime minister," the official said.

The initial outlay of the scheme was Rs 3.60 lakh crore, but the spending on it has already exceeded Rs 4.33 lakh crore. The scheme was beset with complaints from across the country over alleged irregularities in the implementation, prompting the government to carry out on-ground verification.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the extension of the scheme till 2028, but no decision has been taken on the allocation of funds pending reports on the inquiry into the irregularities, the official said.

The release of the funds for the extended run of the scheme has been linked to action taken against the irregularities committed in the implementation of the JJM.

The official said that under the JJM initiative, water pipelines and overhead tanks were built across the country to provide potable water to 19.36 crore households.

However, the scheme ran into problems regarding operation and maintenance as several gram panchayats were not well-equipped for the purpose, the officials said.

"As of date, 32 states/UTs have submitted action reports. Twenty states namely Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and West Bengal have reported cases of irregularities, and action taken in 607 cases against 62 department officials, 969 contractors and 153 Third Party Inspection Agencies (TPIA)," the official said, giving an update on the action taken on complaints.

The official said that nine FIRs have been registered against 20 officials, 10 contractors and one TPIA. So far, a former minister, 10 officials and eight contractors have been arrested.

"The remaining 12 states and UTs — Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Puducherry, Sikkim and Telangana have submitted nil reports," the official said.