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The central government will deploy 100 Central Nodal Officer (CNO) teams to inspect 183 Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) projects across 135 districts, amid concerns over cost inflation and tightened funding, The Indian Express reported on Tuesday.
The decision was taken after a high-level review chaired by the Cabinet Secretary on May 8. According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), 99 nodal officers will cover field inspections in 29 states and Union territories.
Among the states, Madhya Pradesh will see the highest number of inspections at 29, followed by Rajasthan and Odisha with 21 each. Karnataka will have 19, Uttar Pradesh 18, Kerala 10, and both Gujarat and Tamil Nadu eight projects each, the news report said.
Jal Jeevan Mission: Funding cut sparks scrutiny
The government’s move comes two months after the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC), chaired by the Expenditure Secretary, recommended a 46 per cent reduction in additional funding sought for the JJM. The Jal Shakti Ministry had requested ₹2.79 trillion in central funding to complete the mission by December 2028, but the EFC approved only ₹1.51 trillion.
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This reduction followed scrutiny by the Ministry of Finance over rising project costs and suspicions of inflated contracts in certain states, according to officials familiar with the matter.
The news report said that the schemes selected for inspection represent approximately ₹1.5 trillion in cumulative expenditure. Many of these individual projects are valued at Rs 1,000 crore or more. This subset accounts for nearly 20 per cent of the total cost of all projects approved under the JJM since its inception.
Jal Jeevan Mission: Officials from key ministries to lead inspections
The inspection exercise will involve senior government officials — 75 Joint Secretaries, two Joint Secretaries and Financial Advisors, and 106 Directors — drawn from various central ministries and departments. These officers will undergo a dedicated training session on May 23, where they will be briefed on key parameters for on-site evaluations.
The report cited a source saying that the ministry has prepared a questionnaire, which officials will carry during the ground inspection.
Mission scale and revised cost projections
Launched in 2019, the Jal Jeevan Mission aims to provide tap water connections to all rural households. Since then, states have approved 640,000 water supply projects with an estimated cost of ₹8.29 trillion — more than double the original mission outlay of ₹3.60 trillion (Centre: ₹2.08 trillion; states: ₹1.52 trillion).
To bridge the funding gap, the Jal Shakti Ministry sought additional support from the Centre. However, with the EFC approving a significantly lower amount than requested, a more detailed field audit has now been initiated.
Jal Jeevan Mission: States, UTs to be covered
The inspection teams will be deployed across a broad swathe of the country, including Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal.
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