In the state assembly during the Chhattisgarh Monsoon Session 2025, the second day witnessed spirited debates and harsh words between senior political leaders with regard to the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme. A war of words between the former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Deputy Chief Minister Arun Sao got started, highlighting the accused irregularities and inefficiencies in the implementation of the scheme.
Bhupesh Baghel, who is a member of the Congress party, raised doubts over the functioning of the current BJP government, claiming that during the Congress regime, 5000 crores were spent on the Jal Jeevan Mission. But the current triple-engine government has already been able to shell out only 3,000 crores. He also claimed that whereas the government claimed it intended to supply 21 lakh connections of the tap water, only 10 lakh had been done within the recent 20 months. Baghel questioned the ruling government to verify the fact that water is reaching homes where a connection was insisted on.
Deputy CM Arun Sao was responsive by supporting the current regime by alleging the drastic mismanagement by the former Congress government. He said that it delayed the mission by two years because of the inefficiencies during the tenure of the Congress. Arun Sao disclosed that whereas the Congress alleged that it had given 36 lakh connections to people, investigation revealed that only 21 lakh possessed a working water connection, and 15 lakh were bogus entries. The authorities involved have acted against them, a contract engineer has been fined, and an FIR has been sought against two contractors.
The situation went out of control after BJP MLA Dharamlal Kaushik questioned the issue of corruption in the scheme. He wanted to know why FIRs had not been registered against other companies that deal with counterfeit documents. He further pointed out that even when it was stipulated that no more than 70 percent of the payment could be released, more than 80 percent of the amount was paid, and whether the authorities in charge would be punished.
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