States imposed ₹129 crore penalty on contractors under Jal Jeevan Mission: Centre

Six states — Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Gujarat, Assam, Maharashtra and Rajasthan — have reported “significant action in imposing penalty and recovery process”.

States have begun cracking down on corruption and poor workmanship in setting up drinking water facilities under the flagship Jal Jeevan Mission, imposing penalties worth over ₹129 crore on contractors for substandard projects, minister of state for water V Somanna informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply on Monday.

The state reported that action has been taken in 434 cases involving 171 departmental officials, 120 contractors and 143 other stakeholders.

Six states — Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Gujarat, Assam, Maharashtra and Rajasthan — have reported “significant action in imposing penalty and recovery process” in cases of financial irregularities and poor-quality work under the programme, the minister said.

Launched in 2019, the Jal Jeevan Mission aims to connect each of India’s 193.6 million rural households with a tap-water connection by the end of 2024. At the start of the scheme, 32 million households had the facility. As of now, 157.5 million rural families — amounting to 81.36% of the total — have been provided with tap water, according to official data.

Uttar Pradesh and Tripura have reported recoveries from contractors on account of damages, while Karnataka and Tripura have made recoveries on account of forfeitures. Nearly ₹11 crore has been recovered so far from contractors or agencies involved in the engineering projects, the reply noted.

The state reported that action has been taken in 434 cases involving 171 departmental officials, 120 contractors and 143 other stakeholders. The remaining complaints have either been resolved or found irrelevant.