Since August 2019, Government of India is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) – Har Ghar Jal, in partnership with States/ UTs, to make provision of 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.

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.

Furthermore, Government of India has been regularly reviewing the implementation with respective state governments through review meetings and visits of multi-disciplinary teams to highlight the areas 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 this 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. 

Several initiatives have also been undertaken by the Government of India to further strengthen the monitoring mechanism under JJM and to detect the irregularities on time along with taking corrective action, which inter-alia includes:

Since April 2025, States have been conducting monthly inspections of four schemes each, randomly assigned by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), to strengthen field-level oversight. State-level teams carry out inspections to assess the quality of construction, adherence to timelines, availability of services, resolution of issues, etc.

Ground verification has been enhanced by strengthening the monitoring framework for National WASH Experts (NWEs) through a revised and comprehensive checklist emphasizing quality of execution, along with a revised Terms of Reference (ToR) for TPIs to ensure effective supervision.

IT monitoring architecture has also been expanded: apart from State-level access, District Water and Sanitation Mission (DWSM) officials and Gram Panchayat-level functionaries are being onboarded onto the IMIS, enabling decentralized monitoring and improved grassroots-level monitoring.

States/ UTs are being sensitized regarding irregularities reported in JJM whether quality related or financial, on regular basis during the review meetings. 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. As per the data reported by 32 States/ UTs, a total of 17,036 complaints have been received by States/ UTs from different sources such as media reports, suo-moto cognizance, references from public representatives, citizens, grievance portal, etc. regarding financial irregularities and poor quality of works under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). As reported by the States/ UTs, action has been taken against 621 Departmental Officials, 969 contractors, and 153 Third Party Inspection Agencies (TPIAs).

The information was provided by THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI SHRI V. SOMANNA in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

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AMK

(Rajya Sabha USQ 1695)

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