Dehradun: The ‘Har Ghar Nal-Har Ghar Jal’ (Tap Water to Every Household) scheme, being implemented on the ground under the Jal Jeevan Mission, was stalled in its final stages in Uttarakhand. Due to the non-release of funds from the central government, the scheme lagged behind its target. The government also had outstanding liabilities to the contractors implementing the schemes. This was the reason why completion certificates for the scheme were not being issued in many places in the state.
Under this scheme, the central government still owes Uttarakhand more than Rs 3,000 crore. Meanwhile, Uttarakhand has already paid more than its share in the hope that the central government would release the funds. A few days ago, Irrigation Minister Satpal Maharaj had also raised this issue with the central government. On Sunday, the Union Budget allocated Rs 67,670 crore for the Jal Jeevan Mission, for which CM Pushkar Dhami expressed his gratitude to the central government.
Contractors will receive payments: On the central government’s allocation of Rs 67,670 crore for the Jal Jeevan Mission and the extension of the scheme’s deadline, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that this decision of the government will ensure the completion of the Har Ghar Nal Har Ghar Jal scheme in Uttarakhand. The budget allocated for the Jal Jeevan Mission will certainly enable the payment of contractors working under the Jal Jeevan Mission in Uttarakhand.
State government has already paid approximately Rs 650 crore extra from its share: CM Dhami said that contractors had been meeting him for a long time regarding their payments. Under this scheme, the state and central government’s share is 10:90, but the state government has already paid approximately Rs 650 crore extra from its share. He said that the state had also sent several reminders to the central government in this regard.
“Now, in the Union Budget 2026, the central government has made a budgetary provision for this scheme. The deadline has also been extended, which will ensure that all the work under this scheme in the state is completed as soon as possible. This is extremely important for the state, and the money spent by the state will also be reimbursed.” – Pushkar Dhami, Chief Minister, Uttarakhand
Devbhoomi Contractors Association expresses happiness: On the other hand, the Uttarakhand Contractors Association has welcomed Chief Minister Dhami’s statement. Amit Agarwal, President of the Devbhoomi Contractors Association, said that they thank the Chief Minister for at least understanding the plight of the contractors. They have invested their hard-earned capital from their own pockets to implement the Jal Jeevan Mission on the ground.
He said that if the funds are released due to the continuous efforts of their organization and the lobbying done by CM Dhami at the center, it would be a great achievement for them. He also said that if the money is received on time, Uttarakhand will be the first state to complete the Central government’s ‘Har Ghar Jal’ (water to every household) and ‘Har Ghar Nal’ (tap water to every household) scheme. However, he also said that it remains to be seen how effective this budget released by the central government will be.
Amit Agarwal, President of the Devbhoomi Contractors Association, said that the budget of ₹67,670 crore released in the central budget is for the entire country. It is not clear how much time it will take for the state to receive the money. He said that last year too, due to the delay in the allocation of funds for this scheme, the state of Uttarakhand faced problems in implementing the scheme on the ground.
“The central government has not yet released the money from the previous budget, for which a demand is being made. Whereas, work on this scheme has progressed very rapidly in Uttarakhand. Under the scheme, water has reached 75 percent of the villages, and in the remaining 25 percent of the work, 20 percent of the projects are on the verge of completion, but due to the non-release of payments, the contractors are on the verge of bankruptcy.”
– Amit Agarwal, President, Devbhoomi Contractors Association
Highlights of the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Jal Jeevan Mission on August 15, 2019.
- In Uttarakhand, a scheme of ₹9,426.05 crore was announced for 16,555 projects under this scheme. • The central government was supposed to implement this scheme on the ground in a 90:10 ratio.
- The central government was to spend ₹8,483.44 crore and the state government ₹942.60 crore on this scheme.
- So far, work has been completed on 15,459 projects, while work on 1,096 projects is still pending.
- The target for completing this scheme in Uttarakhand was set for June 2026.
- Under the scheme, work worth a total of ₹6,634.05 crore has been completed so far.
- Of this, the state government has contributed ₹1,260.68 crore and the central government ₹5,193.75 crore.
- The Uttarakhand government has already spent an additional ₹683.59 crore from its own funds, hoping for reimbursement from the central government.
- ₹3,289.69 crore is still due from the Government of India.
- So far, 9,507 villages, or 63.47 percent of the total target, have been connected under this scheme.
