CAG Flags Jal Jeevan Mission Gaps In Gujarat; 24.52 Lakh Rural Households Await Tapwater Connection
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Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has flagged major deficiencies in the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission in Gujarat, raising questions over the state’s claim of achieving the ‘Har Ghar Jal’ target. According to the audit findings, 24.52 lakh rural households had not received tap water connections by November 2024, despite schemes being approved to cover 72.14 lakh households.
The audit also found that having a tap connection on paper did not always mean that households were actually receiving water regularly.
Only 47.62 Lakh Households Received Connections
When the Jal Jeevan Mission was launched in August 2019, around 72.07 lakh households out of approximately 1.01 crore rural households in Gujarat were identified as requiring new tap connections under the scheme.
Projects covering 72.14 lakh households were subsequently approved. However, by November 2024, only 47.62 lakh households had been provided domestic tap connections.
This meant around 34% of the targeted rural households were still without tap connections at that point.
Despite this, Gujarat was declared a ‘Har Ghar Jal’ state, indicating that all rural households were considered to have access to tap water. Central government figures, meanwhile, claimed that 91.18 lakh rural households in Gujarat had tap connections.
11.6% Of Taps Were Not Being Used
The CAG audit also examined whether tap connections in villages declared as ‘Har Ghar Jal’ were actually providing water.
The findings showed that 98.1% of households in such villages had tap connections, but water was available through only 86.5% of the taps.
Around 11.6% of the tap connections were not being used, with no water consumption recorded.
The audit found that 80.2% of households received an adequate quantity of water, while only 83.6% received water within the prescribed timeframe.
The findings underline the need to assess the scheme beyond the installation of taps and verify whether households are actually receiving regular and safe drinking water.
CAG Flags Delays And Contract Management Issues
The audit also identified shortcomings in the planning and execution of water supply projects.
Some villages were declared ‘Har Ghar Jal’ before they had achieved the prescribed standards, according to the findings.
Delays in the tendering process, shortcomings in contract management and delays in obtaining design approvals affected the implementation of several projects. The non-availability of land was also cited as one of the factors slowing down execution.
The CAG observations indicate that the success of the Jal Jeevan Mission cannot be measured simply by the number of connections recorded in official figures. The key question is whether regular, adequate and quality drinking water actually reaches every rural household.
