Kerala Assembly: Opposition slams LDF govt for poor progress on Jal Jeevan Mission, stages walkout

UDF Oppsoition in Kerala criticises LDF government for poor management of Jal Jeevan Mission, while Keralagovernment claims progress and promises improvement.

The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Opposition on July 8 slammed the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government for “derailing” the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) rural household tap connection scheme through poor planning and mismanagement.

Opposition members stormed out of the State Legislative Assembly in protest after a motion for adjourning the House to discuss the lapses in JJM implementation was declined.

They accused the government of making little progress on JJM (Kerala is third from the bottom nationally), failing to claim the Central share on time and making no provision for the restoration of the thousands of kilometres of rural roads that were dug up for laying pipes.  

Anoop Jacob of the UDF, who moved the adjournment motion, said the Centrally-assisted project which seeks to provide functional household tap connections (FHTC) to rural households has come to a standstill on account of the “negligence, inefficiency and poor financial management” of the State government.

While the State government claims to have given 19.5 lakh new connections under JJM, these were in fact given from existing water supply projects. The government’s failure to tap new water sources or augment supply schemes for JJM created a situation where the existing water supply was disrupted. Six lakh new connections given under JJM have no water supply at all, Mr. Jacob alleged.  

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan pointed out that the five-year term of JJM had ended in March 2024. Of a total spending estimated at ₹44,715 crore, the Centre and the State had together spent only ₹9,410 crore, of which State share accounted for ₹4,748 crore. At this stage, the contractors’ dues have mounted to ₹3,281 crore. Further, while the Centre has earmarked ₹1,949 crore as its share for 2024-25, the State has announced only ₹550 crore in the Budget for JJM, he said.

The Centre and the State would need to spend ₹30,000 crore more, of which half has to be provided by the State, to complete JJM, Mr. Satheesan pointed out.