Centre allocates over Rs 14,000 cr under scheme but UT draws only Rs 5,945 cr since 2021
Arteev Sharma
Jammu: Marred by corruption allegations, the implementation of the Centre’s flagship Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in Jammu and Kashmir remains a daunting task, with over 3.5 lakh rural households still awaiting tap water connections despite an expenditure of more than Rs 6,400 crore from the allocated Rs 8,228 crore over the past four years.
According to the official documents, there are a total of 19.24 lakh rural households in Jammu and Kashmir, out of which 15.54 lakh households (approximately 81percent) have been provided with tap water connections to date. “Of these, 9.79 lakh rural households received tap water connections after August 15, 2019,” the documents stated, adding “Prior to that, only 5.75 lakh households had access to tap water, which accounted for less than 30 percent of the total rural households in Jammu and Kashmir”.
The documents revealed that the Government of India allocated a whopping Rs 14,810.45 crore to Jammu and Kashmir under JJM over the past four years. However, Jammu and Kashmir government had drawn only Rs 5,944.66 crore during this period.
“Against the available funds to the tune of Rs 8228.86 crore, including open balances, Jammu and Kashmir reported utilization of Rs 5,804.04 crore from central funds, along with Rs 620.33 crore under the state share,” the documents further disclosed. This indicated that Jammu and Kashmir failed to utilize approximately Rs 2,425 crore of the available central funds under the JJM scheme during the past four years.
Giving break-up, the UT government made an expenditure of just Rs 112.43 crore against the available funds of Rs 718.14 crore in the year 2021-22.
“During the year 2022-23, an amount of Rs 1,141.38 crore was utilized for the implementation of JJM against the available funds to the tune of Rs 2045.21 crore. Similarly, Jammu and Kashmir government failed to exhaust the full allocation of available funds to the tune of Rs 4,170.96 crore in the year 2023-24 when it made an expenditure of Rs 3510.26 crore under the scheme,” the documents said.
For the current financial year 2024-25 (as of now), Rs 1,039.97 crore has reportedly been spent from the available Rs 1,294.55 crore.
The Government of India in partnership with States is implementing JJM – Har Ghar Jal to make provision of tap water supply to every rural household. As on date, at-least eight States viz. Goa, Telangana, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram and 3 UTs viz. Puducherry, D&D and D&NH, and A&N Islands have become ‘Har Ghar Jal’ States/ UT i.e. 100 percent households are having tap water supply.
Pertinently, a major controversy erupted over the implementation of the JJM scheme in Jammu and Kashmir in 2023 when a former IAS officer alleged irregularities in the procurement of pipes.
In a detailed complaint to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Ashok Kumar Parmar, a 1992-batch IAS officer, claimed that a committee directly reporting to the Chief Secretary of J&K had shortlisted pipes unsuitable for the hilly and remote areas, violating established norms. Parmar, who served as the Principal Secretary of J&K’s Jal Shakti Department from May 4 to August 7, 2022, raised concerns over the selection process.
However, the Jammu and Kashmir administration had categorically denied any financial irregularities or scams in the scheme’s implementation, asserting that strict adherence to general financial rules and e-tendering had been maintained in the UT since 2019.
