Latest news with #JalJeevanMission:HarGharJal
Indian Express
18 hours ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Jal Jeevan tender premium stopped, says Patil, flags ‘needless waste'
Amid concerns in sections of the government that work contracts have been inflated in some states under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil has said that the Centre has stopped the payment of tender premium under the rural tap water scheme — tender premium refers to the additional amount a bidder quotes, higher than the government's approved cost. Responding to a question at the Idea Exchange programme of The Indian Express (a detailed transcript of the interaction will be published next week), Patil said, 'Tender premium ka bhugtan humne rok diya hai. Jo thha, jo gaya hoga woh alag baat hai, magar jo naya hai usse poori tarah hamne rok diya hai. (We have stopped the payment of tender premium. What was there, what has gone is a different matter, but what is new has been completely stopped).' He said once the tender process is over, there should not be any facility like tender premium thereafter. 'We feel money is unnecessarily wasted,' he said. Patil said there will not be a provision for payment of tender premium in the new JJM guidelines to be announced for the next phase of the programme — the government has announced extension of the JJM until 2028. His remarks come at a time when sections of the government have expressed concern that JJM work contracts were inflated in some states. Earlier this year, an Expenditure Secretary-led panel recommended a 46 per cent cut in the Jal Shakti Ministry's proposal seeking Rs 2.79 lakh crore for completing the mission over four years ending December 2028. The payment of tender premium was prohibited in the original JJM guidelines. The 'Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission: Har Ghar Jal', issued in December 2019, clearly stated that all schemes sanctioned under JJM would be implemented without cost and time overrun. 'In case of any cost escalation beyond the approved cost, it will have to be borne by the State and UTs with legislature concerned and no additional expenditure out of Central share will be permitted,' the guidelines stated. The 2019 guidelines also listed the tender premium in the 'Suggestive list of inadmissible expenses'. But in June 2022, the Ministry, with the approval of 'competent authority', made a crucial change in these guidelines. The Ministry defined the 'approved cost' and deleted 'tender premium' from the suggestive list of inadmissible expenses. 'The 'approved cost' for this purpose shall be the cost as discovered through an open, transparent and competitive bidding process as per prevailing Rules,' stated the amended guidelines circulated to the states on June 21, 2022. The new guidelines also stated that wherever such 'approved cost' was 10% to 25% more than the estimated cost at which the tender for a project/scheme was invited, approval by the Head of the State Level Scheme Sanctioning Committee (SLSSC) would have to be taken before award of work. Wherever such 'approved cost' was over 25% more than the estimated cost at which the tender for a project/scheme was invited, approval by the Head of the Apex Committee of the state Water and Sanitation Mission would have to be taken before award of the work, the guidelines stated. On May 21 this year, The Indian Express reported that an investigation of the data uploaded by states and UTs on the Jal Jeevan Mission dashboard showed that these crucial changes in the JJM guidelines three years ago lifted the check on expenditure, and led to cost escalations. This resulted in additional costs totalling Rs 16,839 crore for 14,586 schemes, an increase of 14.58 per cent from their estimated cost. Since the launch of the JJM in 2019, 6.4 lakh water supply schemes with total estimated cost of Rs 8.29 lakh crore – more than double of the scheme's original outlay of Rs 3.60 lakh crore (Centre: Rs 2.08 lakh crore, States:1.52 lakh crore) – have been approved by the states. To meet the additional requirement of funds, the Ministry had approached the Expenditure Finance Committee, headed by the Expenditure Secretary, to approve Rs 2.79 lakh crore additional Central funding over and above Rs 2.08 lakh crore. But the EFC recommended only Rs 1.51 lakh crore as the Central share, 46 per cent lower than what was sought by the Ministry. Harikishan Sharma, Senior Assistant Editor at The Indian Express' National Bureau, specializes in reporting on governance, policy, and data. He covers the Prime Minister's Office and pivotal central ministries, such as the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare, Ministry of Cooperation, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Rural Development, and Ministry of Jal Shakti. His work primarily revolves around reporting and policy analysis. In addition to this, he authors a weekly column titled "STATE-ISTICALLY SPEAKING," which is prominently featured on The Indian Express website. In this column, he immerses readers in narratives deeply rooted in socio-economic, political, and electoral data, providing insightful perspectives on these critical aspects of governance and society. ... Read More
Indian Express
20-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Express Investigation: Tweak in Jal Jeevan tender rule removed cap on expense, led to Rs 16,000-crore extra cost
On Monday, the Government issued an order for 100 inspection teams to fan out across 135 districts in 29 states and Union Territories to review the work being carried out under its flagship Jal Jeevan Mission for supplying drinking water through individual tap connections to rural households — amid concerns within the administration over cost overruns and alleged lapses in award of tenders. An investigation by The Indian Express of the data uploaded by states and UTs in the Jal Jeevan Mission dashboard has revealed that a crucial change in the tender guidelines three years ago lifted the check on expenditure, and led to cost escalations. This resulted in additional costs totalling Rs 16,839 crore for 14,586 schemes — an increase of 14.58 per cent from their estimated cost. Before a tender is issued for a scheme, the government arrives at the estimated cost by adding various project costs including material and labour. Over the past month, The Indian Express scrutinised details of over 1 lakh schemes for which work orders were issued on or after June 21, 2022, when the rules were amended, to August 3, 2024 when the last set of work orders were recorded on the dashboard maintained by the Ministry of Jal Shakti. The key findings: These findings are significant in the wake of a Central Government committee led by the Expenditure Secretary recommending a 46 per cent cut in the Jal Shakti Ministry's demand for additional Central funding of Rs 2.79 lakh crore, and given the unease over some states having approved inflated work contracts. Tweak in criteria The 'Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission: Har Ghar Jal', issued in December 2019, stated: 'In case of any cost escalation beyond the approved cost, it will have to be borne by the concerned State and UTs with legislature and no additional expenditure out of Central share will be permitted.' Crucially, the 2019 guidelines included the practice of 'tender premium' in its 'suggestive list of inadmissible expenses'. Tender premium refers to the additional amount quoted by a bidder that is higher than the Government's estimated cost. In other words, under the original guidelines, states were not allowed to use Central funds to award work tenders at a price higher than previously approved estimated costs. On June 21, 2022, the Ministry deleted the words 'tender premium' from the list of 'inadmissible expenses'. Instead, the amended guidelines stated that the approved cost 'shall be the cost as discovered through an open, transparent and competitive bidding process as per prevailing rules'. The new guidelines also stated that wherever the 'approved cost' is 10-25 per cent more than the estimated cost at which a tender was invited, approval by the head of the State Level Scheme Sanctioning Committee (SLSSC) should be taken before the contract is sanctioned. Overall, records show, the 1,03,093 schemes during this three-year period were sanctioned in 600 districts across 30 states and UTs with a cumulative cost of Rs 3,90,732 crore — 47 per cent of the amount that was approved for all schemes in the Mission since its inception. The Ministry of Jal Shakti did not respond to an emailed questionnaire from The Indian Express on the change in guidelines and the cost escalation. Sources said the Ministry — led at the time by Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat — changed the guidelines following demands from several states, including Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, citing a rise in cost of materials amid the Covid pandemic. Since the launch of the JJM in 2019, 6.4 lakh water supply schemes with a total estimated cost of Rs 8.29 lakh crore have been approved by states — more than double the scheme's original outlay of Rs 3.60 lakh crore, with Rs 2.08 lakh crore from the Centre. This year, the Jal Shakti Ministry, currently under Minister C R Patil, approached the Expenditure Finance Committee for approval of additional Central funding of Rs 2.79 lakh crore. However, as reported by The Indian Express on April 21, the Committee recommended only Rs 1.51 lakh crore in additional support.
