Parliament Question: Irregularities in Implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER & SANITATION LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. – 273 ANSWERED ON 18/12/2025 IRREGULARITIES IN IMPLEMENTATION OF JAL JEEVAN MISSION *273. SHRI VIJAYAKUMAR ALIAS VIJAY VASANTH: SHRI ANAND BHADAURIA: Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to State: (a) whether the Government has imposed penalties for irregularities under the Jal Jeevan Mission amounting to approximately Rs. 129.27 crore and have initiated recovery proceedings based on ground verification across seven States in the country including Uttar Pradesh, if so, the details thereof, State-wise and district-wise for Uttar Pradesh; (b) whether the bulk of this penalty of about Rs. 120.65 crore pertaining to the State of Gujarat has not been recovered so far given that only about Rs. 6.65 crore has reportedly been collected, if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor and the steps being taken by the Government to recover the remaining amount; (c) whether the Government has carried out a comprehensive audit across all the States and Union Territories that have reported irregularities under JJM, if so, the findings of such audit(s) and the remedial/corrective measures taken thereon and if not, the reasons for such large-scale violations continuing unchecked even after massive public expenditure exceeding Rs. 4.33 lakh crore; (d) whether the Government has taken any action against the persons/agencies reportedly involved in JJM irregularities including the reported 62 officials, 969 contractors and 153 Third-Party Inspection Agencies (TPIAs); and (e) if so, the details thereof and if not, the measures proposed by the Government to ensure more accountability in implementation of JJM? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF JAL SHAKTI (SHRI C R PATIL) (a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the table of the House. Page 1 of 4Statement referred to in reply to parts (a) to (e) in respect of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. *273 for reply on 18.12.2025 regarding Irregularities in Implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission asked by Shri Vijayakumar Alias Vijay Vasanth and Shri Anand Bhadauria (a) Six States namely 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 of works under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). In addition, 02 states (Uttar Pradesh and Tripura) have reported to have made recovery from contractors on account of liquidated damages, while 02 states (Karnataka and Tripura) on account of forfeiture of EMD/ FDR. The state-wise details of penalties imposed and recoveries made are annexed. Uttar Pradesh has reported that it initiated enquiries in 14,264 complaints received from various channels including suo moto cognizance. The report has been submitted in 14,212 cases while the enquiry is under process in 52 cases. The state has further reported that against these complaints, action was taken in 434 cases which involves 171 Department level officials, 120 contractors and 143 TPIAs, while remaining complaints have either been addressed or found irrelevant. (b) As reported by the Government of Gujarat, a financial loss of Rs. 120.65 crore has occurred due to irregularities in 620 villages of Mahisagar district, and orders have been issued for recovery from 112 implementing agencies. The State Government has reported that Rs. 6.65 crore has been recovered from these agencies so far. Further, all 112 agencies have been debarred by the State Government, and an FIR was registered in the matter. The case is presently under investigation by the CID Crime Branch, and so far, 9 officials/contractors have been arrested. (c) Since August 2019, Government of India is implementing JJM, in partnership with States/ UTs, to make provision of safe and adequate tap water connection to every rural household of the country. ‘Drinking Water’ is a state subject, and hence, the responsibility of planning, approval, implementation, operation & maintenance of drinking water supply schemes, including those under the JJM, lies with State/UT Governments. The Government of India supports the states by providing technical and financial assistance. At the start of JJM in August 2019, only 3.23 crore (16.7%) rural households were reported to have tap water connections. So far, as reported by States/ UTs as on 11.12.2025, around 12.52 crore additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections under JJM. Thus, as on 11.12.2025, out of 19.36 crore rural households in the country, more than 15.76 crore (81.41%) rural households are reported to have tap water connection. To support states in effective planning and implementation of JJM, detailed operational guidelines covering all aspects of planning, execution, quality assurance, monitoring, and sustainability of infrastructure created under JJM has been shared with States/ UTs. Government of India has also been regularly reviewing the implementation with respective state governments through review meetings and visits of multi-disciplinary teams to highlight the Page 2 of 4areas to strengthen implementation and monitoring for expeditious implementation of the mission. Under JJM, technology is utilized to ensure transparency and accountability. Physical and financial progress is reported on JJM–Integrated Management Information Systems (IMIS) and all tap water connections provided, are to be linked with Aadhar number of the head of the household. Provisions have also been made for geo-tagging of assets created under the JJM. To ensure the quality of the work under the operational guidelines for the implementation of the JJM, third party inspection and certification before payment is mandatory. For the purpose, States/UTs have been empowered to empanel third party inspection agencies (TPIA) to check the quality of work executed by the agencies, quality of materials used for construction and quality of machinery installed in each of the scheme. Any deviation from prescribed JJM guidelines is required to be acted upon by the State/UT Government concerned. (d) and (e) As per the data reported by 32 States/ UTs, action has been taken against 621 Departmental Officials, 969 contractors and 153 Third Party Inspection Agencies in cases of financial irregularities and poor quality of works under JJM. The departmental officials involved in irregularities are undergoing administrative action, including suspension, departmental inquries, issuance of charge sheets as per established procedures. In the case of contractors, actions taken include blacklisting or recommendation for blacklisting, termination of contracts, debarment, forfeiture of earnest money deposits and imposition of penalties, depending on the nature of violation. With regard to TPIAs, the concerned officials have been removed from empanelment, and in other cases, show-cause notices have been issued and recoveries initiated. Furthermore, States/ UTs have been repeatedly advised to adopt a zero-tolerance approach toward any financial, procedural, or quality-related violations. All States/ UTs have been advised to ensure that every complaint is duly examined, field verification is carried out promptly, and all required disciplinary, contractual, and legal actions are taken without exception to uphold transparency and accountability of the mission. ***** Page 3 of 4Annex Annex referred in the reply to part (a) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 273 answered on 18.12.2025 Liquidated Penalty/ Recovery Penalty/ Forfeiture of State Damages Imposed Recovery Made EMD/ FDR Recovered 1 2 3 4 5 Tamil Nadu 3,00,000 3,00,000 - - Tripura 1,22,96,739 1,22,96,739 7,09,903 2,83,065 Gujarat 1,20,65,00,000 6,65,00,000 - - Assam 5,08,089 5,08,089 - - Maharashtra 2,02,04,200 10,37,000 - - Karnataka - - 1,01,71,600 Rajasthan 5,34,47,000 3,77,29,000 - - Uttar Pradesh - - 340,00,00,000 Total 129,32,56,028 11,83,70,828 340,07,00,000 1,04,54,665 Page 4 of 4