The Maharashtra government is allocating more than Rs 22,898 crore from its own funds for the Jal Jeevan Mission due to delays in project completion caused by a lack of funds. This allocation is in addition to the state’s matching share required by the Central government. The decision was made during a state Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The Cabinet has approved an estimated allocation of Rs 22,898 crore from state funds to cover expenses beyond the regular Central-state matching ratio. This move comes after the state government presented supplementary demands worth Rs 97,706.40 crore recently due to financial constraints. The total funds available will be around Rs 44,000 crore, with the state providing Rs 22,898 crore from its own funds.
The allocated funds will cover various key initiatives, including retrofitting projects, revised water supply schemes, community contributions, water quality monitoring, Internet of Things initiatives, electrochlorination units, and National Rural Drinking Water Programme schemes. The government is fast-tracking nearly complete water supply schemes to ensure villages benefit without delay.
For projects that are almost complete, the state will provide dedicated funds to expedite their completion. An amount of Rs 3,769 crore has been sanctioned for fully completed projects, along with funds for support components and water quality monitoring. The government aims to eliminate bureaucratic delays by authorizing the advance release of funds from the state treasury.
The state government’s decision to allocate funds from its own resources is crucial as it had not received Central funds for the Jal Jeevan Mission since October 2024. This lack of funds had slowed down ongoing projects, with over 25,000 schemes still in progress out of a total of 51,560 sanctioned schemes. The government has directed the state to arrange advance state-share funding until the Central share is received to maintain project progress.
