Centre's Jal Jeevan Mission Funds: Why Bengal Must Meet Strict Conditions

The first condition, according to an official from the State Secretariat of Nabanna, funds would only be released on the basis of scheme-based proposals under the Central project.

Each scheme on this count should have a separate identification number, without which Central funds under the project would not be available.

At the same time, the state government official added that the Union government had also imposed the condition of financial reconciliation with each scheme under the "Jal Jeevan Mission" project.

"This means that the Union government will first examine whether there is any disparity between the total Central funds released under a particular scheme under that project and the exact amount spent by the state government for that scheme. The Central funds for that scheme will be released only if the Union government is satisfied that there is no disparity between these two aspects," the state government official said.

The Ministry of Jal Shakti had recently sent a written communication to the West Bengal government detailing the conditions set for the release of funds under the "Jal Jeevan Mission" project.

"The most important point in the entire set of conditions for release of Central funds is the creation of separate identification numbers for the different schemes under the 'Jal Jeevan Mission' project. So the public health engineering department had been advised by the State Secretariat to create the identification numbers at the earliest," the state government official added.

Jal Jeevan Mission is envisioned to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections in rural India.

The project is based on a community approach to water and includes extensive Information, education, and communication as key components of the mission.

- IANS