Assam’s Jal Jeevan Mission In Jeopardy? Centre Takes Stock

The growing controversy surrounding Assam’s Jal Jeevan Mission under Public Health and Engineering Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah exposes a deeper malaise afflicting India’s rural development efforts — a chronic culture of corruption, opacity, and bureaucratic apathy that threatens to derail even the most well-intentioned government initiatives.

At risk is nothing short of the health and well-being of millions of rural citizens who are dependent on these schemes for safe drinking water — a basic human requirement. 

The Centre has finally endorsed long-standing charges of widespread malpractices and corruption in the execution of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in Assam. The ambitious scheme to provide safe and potable drinking water to all rural homes has been tainted by unchecked corruption and commission-based malpractices, leading to a virtual breakdown of budgetary restraint and project timelines.

Even after the national deadline for Jal Jeevan Mission had passed by a long time, the state of Assam has only achieved the coverage of 15 percent of the target within the given timeframe. This colossal lag not only hindered the progress but also loaded the Centre with more financial burdens because the construction of the project could not be finalized according to the timeline. Confronted with such a budgetary burden, the Ministry of Jal Shakti has clearly informed Assam — as well as a few other states — that no central funds will henceforth be disbursed for the incomplete works. The onus of paying for these outstanding works entirely rests with the state government now.

Adding to the Centre’s mounting concerns, the Ministry has summoned Assam’s authorities to provide explanations regarding serious irregularities uncovered in the ongoing water supply infrastructure works under the mission. Independent inspections by third-party experts, which are mandated to ensure quality control and transparency, reveal that several contractors have been receiving payments without proper verification of their work quality. This blatant violation of protocol has even reached the desk of the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

According to Jal Jeevan Mission guidelines, contractors can receive payment only after finishing their work and clearing tough quality checks done by independent third-party audit agencies. The bills can be sanctioned and money released only upon their satisfaction. But sources indicate that in Assam, some contractors directly connected with powerful departmental ministers have evaded these safeguards. Premature payments have been made without going through the mandatory third-party re-verification process — an obvious violation of the scheme's very checks and balances.

Reacting to these grave charges, Assam's Additional Chief Secretary of Rural Water Supply and Public Health Engineering received a formal letter dated July 8, 2025, from the Ministry's Additional Secretary, Manoj Kumar Jha. The letter explicitly demands confirmation on whether third-party re-inspections were conducted before releasing payments to contractors. It also sternly warns that the state government must initiate immediate legal proceedings against any individuals or entities found violating the stipulated rules by bypassing quality verifications.

Meanwhile, a treasure trove of reports confirms that several independent experts have visited the sites of several Jal Jeevan Mission projects in Assam — and on each occasion, have voiced extreme disappointment with the quality of works completed.

Nationwide, on-site inspections of Jal Jeevan Mission projects are obligatory to keep everybody accountable and quality consistent. In Assam alone, 440 such projects have been inspected and rated on a scale of one to five stars. Surprisingly, 31 projects received a five-star rating. Another 25 received four stars, while the majority scored lower than acceptable standards — 118 projects were awarded three stars, 30 projects were awarded two stars, and one project scored as low as one star. This rating captures widespread failures in planning, execution, and maintenance.

Significantly, a number of national-level experts have expressed grave concerns after reviewing schemes in Assam. Dr. A.K. Gupta visited schemes of water supply in Bongaigaon's Srijangram block, such as Deohati Panchayat's village Deohati Part-1 and Amguri village in the nearby block, and expressed serious discontent, recommending immediate improvement. In the same vein, national expert Ashok Basra raised serious irregularities in the water supply scheme in Sukatikhata village under Rupsi Panchayat, Dhubri district.

Dr. Balamuni M.C. detected glaring flaws on inspection of Bashbari water supply scheme in Babubil Panchayat, Kokrajhar district, whereas Bhavana M. Trivedi, who is another national-level inspector, was left shocked and seriously concerned after inspecting three water supply schemes in Khongiya and Katonibari regions of Jorhat and Dhekiajuli.

The disquiet extended to Majuli’s Bora Chuk village, Karbi Anglong’s Bokajan block, where widespread structural deficiencies were observed by yet another expert. Dr. D.K. Upadhyay, upon inspecting projects in Sipajhar (Darrang district), and West Mangaldoi, also criticized poor workmanship and non-compliance with quality norms.

In addition, Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Chadha presented deeply critical reports on various schemes in Barpeta district, such as Barbhita village and Patacharkuchi Panchayat, revealing systemic deficiencies. Another specialist, assessed several projects in the Barak Valley and documented widespread dissatisfaction.

A few renowned national-level specialists visited Assam's Jal Jeevan Mission sites over recent years, concerned with serious deviations from approved Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) and poor execution.

Even those projects that had been rated satisfactory were observed to be in need of immediate corrections, highlighting the all-pervasive shortcomings haunting the scheme's implementation.

The Jal Jeevan Mission was initiated by the Government of India in 2019-20 with the ambitious target of supplying clean and safe drinking water to all rural households by 2023-24. But Assam, like other states, has not been able to achieve the mission within the required time frame. This delay has forced the Centre to incur additional expenditure for which it has now given a definite warning: no more funds will be approved for incomplete work, and the financial cost has to be absorbed by the respective state governments.

The June 16, 2025 letter from the Ministry of Jal Shakti to Assam and a few other states clearly indicates that any expenditure incurred due to unfinished projects after the specified date will not be borne by the Centre. This position puts Assam's government in a vulnerable position, as it still has many ongoing projects and pending contractor dues to settle.

Following the Ministry's hardline diktat, the Assam Cabinet met to sanction the release of 'performance guarantee' funds to settle outstanding contractor payments. However, the state's chronic financial crisis warrants serious questions regarding how the government will be able to maintain and propel the Jal Jeevan Mission in the next few months.

The Centre's firm warnings and call for accountability highlight the imperative for Assam's political and administrative leadership to take firm action, impose stringent quality controls, and recover public faith.

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