Gehlot slams Rajasthan govt over ‘irregularities’ in Jal Jeevan Mission, calls it ‘government of loot and lies’

Jaipur, Oct 9 (PTI) Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday criticised the state government over alleged irregularities in the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission, accusing the BJP dispensation of running a "government of loot and lies." Gehlot said the Union Jal Shakti Minister should take note of what he termed the deteriorating state of the mission in Rajasthan.

"The BJP government had announced to provide 25 lakh water connections under the Jal Jeevan Mission in the 2024-25 budget, but could provide only 9.44 lakh connections. This is even less than the 13.88 lakh connections provided by the Congress government in 2022-23 and 12.17 lakh in 2023-24," Gehlot said in a post on X.

He further said that in the 2025-26 Budget, the government has promised to provide 20 lakh new tap connections, but only 97,000 connections have been provided in six months.

"At this pace, only around two lakh connections will be achieved this year, exposing the BJP's false claims," he said.

Gehlot also alleged administrative mismanagement and favouritism in the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), which implements the scheme.

"It has now come to light that six additional chief engineers, three superintending engineers, and 17 executive engineers of the PHED have been kept in APO (awaiting posting orders) status for long periods, while favoured officers have been given additional responsibilities. What is the reason for this? Is corruption the real cause behind the failure of the Jal Jeevan Mission under the BJP government?" he asked.

He added that Union minister C R Patil, who is scheduled to visit Rajasthan on October 11, should question the chief minister on why the flagship water scheme is "faltering" under a so-called double-engine government. PTI AG SMV SMV AMJ AMJ