Karnataka has ordered a third-party verification of alleged incomplete and poor-quality works under the Jal Jeevan Mission, as 859 villages continue to face drinking water problems amid deficient rainfall and drought conditions.
Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Eshwara B Khandre announced the audit at a review meeting, saying action would follow if irregularities were found. He said supplying safe drinking water to every village remained the state’s top priority.
The state has arranged water supplies through tankers and private borewells for villages facing shortages. Khandre said officials had been instructed to resolve drinking water complaints within 24 hours of being reported.
According to the minister, Rs 117 crore had been released for rural drinking water during Siddaramaiah’s tenure as chief minister, while Chief Minister DK Shivakumar had released a further Rs 189 crore for rural assembly constituencies. Khandre said funds were not in short supply and that implementation issues, including alleged deficiencies in completed works, were being reviewed.
The Jal Jeevan Mission works under scrutiny include rural drinking water projects where complaints have been raised over incomplete construction and poor quality. Khandre did not specify the number of projects or villages covered by the proposed third-party verification, nor did he identify the agency that would conduct the audit.
Forest clearance delays affecting multi-village drinking water schemes under the mission had also come to the government’s notice, the minister said. These issues would be addressed according to applicable rules at the earliest, he added.
The review also covered rural connectivity and drought-related works. Khandre said rural Karnataka had about 2 lakh km of roads, half of them mud roads. Villages facing traffic pressure should have at least one connectivity road, he said, adding that the government had planned a rural road development scheme.
In drought-hit areas, individual beneficiaries would be allowed to undertake borewell recharge, well-digging, farm ponds and check dams. The works permitted under the drought response also include school compound walls and hospital buildings. Khandre said new job cards had been issued, allowing rural households to take up eligible employment-related works.
The minister also said the government was prioritising model villages and the scientific disposal of solid and wet waste. The review meeting was attended by legislators TD Rajegowda and Gayatri Shantegowda, along with Commissioner YS Patil.
The immediate next step is the third-party verification of Jal Jeevan Mission works. The state’s response to the audit findings, the agency appointed to conduct the exercise and the timeline for completing the verification will determine how alleged quality and completion issues are addressed.
