Only 26.50 per cent villages in Maharashtra were connected with ‘Har Ghar Jal’ scheme under Jal Jivan Mission (JJM) so far, whereas at district-level only 27.30 per cent villages were certified under the scheme, revealed a performance audit report on JJM of the state conducted by Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), recently. The objective behind conducting the audit was to bring key audit findings to the notice of the state legislature. JJM is the flagship programme of Government of India, launched in 2019 to provide piped water supply to each of the rural households of the country through Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) by end of 2024. As per JJM guidelines, FHTC was to provide 55 litres of water per capita per day on regular basis. Maharashtra’s performance audit was taken up during July 2024 to October 2024 covering the period from 2019-20 to 2023-24.

 

Out of 40,297 villages in Maharashtra, only 10,677 villages were certified ‘Har Ghar Jal’ scheme which is just 26.50 per cent. Similarly, at the district level (of the districts selected for audit), out of 8,005 villages only 2185 villages were certified as ‘Har Ghar Jal’, revealed the report. According to CAG, total 21 lakh rural households in Maharashtra were not getting water through Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) as of March 2024. As against 1.46 crore rural households in the state, 1.25 crore households were provided FHTC till March. The report also revealed that the tendering process under JJM was violated, as work orders for certain water supply schemes (WSS) were issued without the prior approval of the State-level Scheme Sanctioning Committee (SLSSC), while in other cases, works were awarded to contractors without assessing their bid capacity.

 

Maharashtra has failed to prepare District Action Plan as per JJM guidelines for the whole scheme period and schemes were planned without assured water sources. State Action Plan (SAP) was also not prepared, claimed the report. It also revealed that WSS were sanctioned without ensuring availability of Water Treatment Plant (WTP) in the whole state. As per the CAG report, there was delay in release of funds as well due to delays in submission of Utilisation Certificates and Audited Accounts. As against admissible funds of Rs 59,740 crore the total release was Rs 27,657 crore which is just 46.30 per cent of the total admissible funds. The CAG recommended that the Water Supply and Sanitation Department provide a clear implementation roadmap, and balance execution of works through effective and efficient Village, District, and State Action Plans as stipulated in JJM guidelines. The report recommended to speed up the process to provide FHTC to every household along with completion of pending WSS to make FHTC fully functional. It also advised to strengthen the process for water quality testing and reporting along with water testing facility by early establishment of the State laboratory.