Kerala spent more than Centre's share under Jal Jeevan Mission: Minister Rajan

Kerala Revenue and Housing Minister K Rajan on Monday told the Assembly that the state has spent more funds than what it received from the Centre under the Jal Jeevan Mission JJM to provide household water connections.

Kerala Revenue and Housing Minister K Rajan on Monday told the Assembly that the state has spent more funds than what it received from the Centre under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) to provide household water connections. Replying to a question raised by MLA N Samsudheen during Question Hour, Rajan said that while the Union government had provided around Rs 5,500 crore under the JJM, the state government had spent about Rs 8,000 crore on the project. He said the state had also taken a loan of Rs 9,000 crore from NABARD to complete the project. ''We decided to provide water connections to 70 lakh households under the scheme. Of these, 17 lakh connections existed even before the JJM. After the scheme was introduced, 21 lakh new connections have been provided,'' the minister said. Rajan said pipelines have been laid to around eight lakh houses, but water supply has not yet started as work on treatment plants is still underway. ''It is wrong to say that the state did not contribute its matching share to the Centre's funds. The issue will be resolved using the loan amount,'' he said. He said the Centre had initially fixed March 2024 as the deadline for completing the JJM, which was later extended to March 2025. ''Though the last Union Budget mentioned an extension till March 2028, no formal order has been issued by the Centre, nor are the required funds being released. Hence, the state is proceeding on its own,'' Rajan said. The minister also said the draft water policy aimed at ensuring water for all would not adversely affect the common people. He said groundwater availability in the state has been classified into four zones - safe, semi-critical, critical and over-exploited. ''There are 27 locations in the semi-critical zone and three in the critical zone, including Kasaragod, Chittoor and Malampuzha. There is no over-exploited zone in the state,'' he said. Rajan said no permit is required for open wells, while bore wells would require a feasibility certificate and a no-objection certificate from the groundwater authority for commercial usage. Responding to concerns over contractors not receiving payments for works undertaken under the JJM, the minister said there was a misconception that the Centre and the state each contributed 50 per cent of the funds. ''In reality, Kerala has spent more than the Centre's share. The issues faced by contractors will be resolved using the Rs 9,000-crore NABARD loan,'' he said. The minister's statement gains significance as BJP state leaders have been targeting the LDF government, alleging that funds released under the JJM were not utilised properly by the state. On Sunday, following the presentation of the Union Budget, BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that Kerala should first utilise the funds given by the Centre, including those allocated under the JJM, before demanding new projects.

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