CAG finds no functional taps in three ST Grama Panchayats under Jal Jeevan Mission

Who it concerns: Government of Kerala, specifically the Kerala Water Authority (KWA), Departments of Water Resources and Ground Water, and Grama Panchayats.

What the auditor found

• Only 52.46% of rural households achieved Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) by March 2024, against a target of 100%.
• 2,13,991 tap connections were disconnected within one month of installation.
• ₹3,578.47 crore in bills remained pending payment to contractors.
• ₹3,625.72 crore worth of work packages remained unawarded.
• Only 51% of the total 5,318 works were completed; 17% did not even commence.
• Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSC) were constituted in only 4 out of 21 test-checked Grama Panchayats.
• No Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Policy was formulated for JJM schemes.
• Notification for transferring drinking water management to Panchayats under the 73rd Amendment was not issued.
• CAG recommended issuing notifications for devolution to PRIs, formulating an O&M policy, and conducting baseline surveys.

Also in the document

• CAG found that not a single Functional Household Tap Connection was provided in three Scheduled Tribe (ST) dominated Grama Panchayats (Agali, Pudur, and Sholayur) selected for audit.
• CAG noted that the State's projected fund requirement for JJM was more than six times the total outlay on the grant, yet sources for mobilizing sufficient funds were not identified.
• CAG reported that over half of 7,458 applications for road cutting sanctions were still awaiting decisions, with delays ranging from 60 to 390 days.
• CAG observed that Implementation Support Agencies (ISAs) were brought into the process only after the planning and mobilization phases were already over.