Former IAS officer Subodh Agarwal, wanted in connection with the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scam in Rajasthan, has been apprehended by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). Agarwal was brought from Delhi to Jaipur by the ACB team for questioning at their headquarters by Deputy Inspector General of Police Om Prakash Meena.
An arrest warrant had been issued against Agarwal earlier in relation to the JJM scam. In the same case, nine officials of the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) had already been taken into custody. ACB Director General Govind Gupta disclosed that the investigation, which began in 2024, has resulted in the arrest of 11 individuals, with three others still at large.
With Agarwal’s arrest, a significant breakthrough has been made in the ongoing inquiry. The ACB uncovered serious irregularities in the JJM tendering process, where various companies, including Ganpati Tubewell and Shyam Tubewell, allegedly secured contracts through fraudulent means.
Despite the known discrepancies, officials neglected to act, leading to tenders worth nearly Rs 900 crore being awarded to benefit specific firms. Additionally, mandatory site inspections for projects exceeding Rs 50 crore were reportedly omitted, indicating a clear abuse of official authority. The ACB conducted raids at multiple locations across Rajasthan and other states, revealing forged billing and procedural violations in the tendering process.
Agarwal, a retired IAS officer who served as an Additional Chief Secretary in the PHED during the alleged scam under the previous Congress government in Rajasthan, and others submitted false completion certificates to obtain JJM contracts, resulting in the misappropriation of funds involving contractors, senior engineers, and public officials. Agarwal had been evading authorities for weeks before his arrest, and previous arrests were made in February 2026 in connection with the same case.
The Jal Jeevan Mission scheme, initiated by the Central government in 2019, aims to provide piped drinking water to every rural household by installing functional tap connections.
