Jal Jeevan Mission: 49.61% of Rajasthan's targeted rural households still without tap connections

It assessed the progress toward providing functional household tap connections to rural households and the management of funds and operations.

Who it concerns: Government of Rajasthan, specifically the State Water and Sanitation Mission (SWSM) and related departments responsible for the Jal Jeevan Mission.

What the auditor found

• As of January 2025, only 49.61% (47,65,980) of targeted rural households had functional tap connections, with 50.39% remaining uncovered.
• Only one out of 302 blocks in Rajasthan achieved 'Har Ghar Jal' certification status as of January 2025.
• CAG found failed payment transactions amounting to ₹133.22 crore initiated by divisions.
• Village Action Plans were prepared 19 days to 17 months after scheme approval in 24 of 28 selected villages, defeating bottom-up planning.
• Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSCs) were not constituted in 3,910 villages (9.32%) as of April 2024.
• Only 858 schemes (30.81%) were handed over to VWSCs for operation and maintenance.
• No water tariff structure or billing system was established for rural water supply schemes to recover O&M costs.
• Water and energy audits were not conducted for any rural water supply schemes.
• CAG recommended the State Government to prioritize water quality-affected habitations, install household meters, and conduct independent evaluation studies.

Also in the document

• CAG reported that over-exploited groundwater blocks increased from 185 (62.71%) in 2017 to 214 (70.86%) in 2024, while safe blocks decreased to 37 (12.25%).
• CAG noted that the State Government did not institutionalize any mechanism for social audits in villages covered under JJM, nor did it issue guidelines or nominate third parties for this purpose.
• CAG found that in 13 of the selected villages, community contribution was not collected, and in the other 13, the collected contribution was not utilized by the VWSCs.