West Bengal has received ₹2,000 crore in central funding under the Jal Jeevan Mission, unlocking part of the money pending for completed rural drinking-water projects and allowing the state’s Public Health Engineering Department to begin clearing contractor dues, according to departmental sources cited by Bartaman Patrika.
The funds arrived during the week, after several years of disagreement over conditions attached to the central programme. One of the key conditions was the collection of a water tax from users. The report said the earlier state government had not agreed to that condition, while the state government under the Bharatiya Janata Party signed the agreement after coming to power.
The release covers part of the outstanding payments for projects completed from the 2023-24 financial year onwards. The report said around ₹1,367 crore remains payable at present. District divisions under the Public Health Engineering Department are expected to receive 60 per cent of the outstanding amount. Around ₹1,000 crore has already been released for this purpose, according to the report.
The largest arrears are reported in the Birbhum and Medinipur district divisions. Together, the dues in the two districts are estimated at around ₹250 crore. A further ₹1,500 crore to ₹1,600 crore is expected to be released shortly, which would enable the department to clear more of the remaining payments.
The funding has a direct bearing on the pace of rural water-supply construction. Contractors have been waiting for payments linked to work completed under the mission, while the department has also faced delays in moving ahead with new projects. Officials cited in the report expressed hope that clearing the arrears would help accelerate both pending payments and new work.
However, the grant does not resolve all financial issues connected with the projects. The report said some earlier works contained deficiencies and were not fully paid for because additional work was required. This process, described as retrofitting, increased project costs. The Centre has not agreed to finance the additional expenditure, and the state’s departmental secretary and officials are continuing discussions with the central government to secure payment for that work.
The immediate release therefore addresses a significant part of the pending contractor payments, while the treatment of retrofitting costs remains unresolved. Further releases and the state’s discussions with the Centre will determine how much of the remaining dues can be cleared and how quickly new rural drinking-water projects can proceed.
