Govt Deploys 100 Nodal Officer Teams for JJM Inspection

On 19th May 2025, the Centre announced that it will send 100 teams of Central Nodal Officers to inspect key Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) schemes across India, following a Cabinet Secretary-led review on 8th May.

Key Points

Mission Scope: 99 officers to inspect 183 schemes in 135 districts across 29 states/UTs, with a focus on cost and quality.
High-Cost Projects: Many shortlisted schemes have budgets of ₹1,000 crore each, totaling ₹1.5 lakh crore—20% of JJM’s total approved cost.
Cost Concerns: The inspection follows Finance Ministry pushback over rising costs, including tap connection costs ballooning to ₹1.37 lakh from ₹30,000.
Funding Cut: Against a demand of ₹2.79 lakh crore, the Expenditure Finance Committee approved only ₹1.51 lakh crore, a 46% reduction.
Officer Profile: Teams include Joint Secretaries, Financial Advisors, and Directors from various ministries. A training session will be held on May 23.
Political Sensitivity: The review spans states ruled by different parties; aims to assess ground realities of cost and quality amid inflated work contract concerns.
Mission Scale: Since 2019, over 6.4 lakh schemes with a total estimated cost of ₹8.29 lakh crore have been approved under JJM.