TMC MPs urge Centre to disburse pending JJM funds

New Delhi: A 16-member delegation of All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) MPs on Monday appealed to Union Jal Shakti minister CR Patil to release West Bengal’s outstanding amount of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) funds at the earliest and initiate corrective action against the “record and destructive” release of water by Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) this year.

The Parliamentarians, in a memorandum to the minister, blamed the centre for wilfully not releasing JJM funds — Jal Jeevan Mission in West Bengal — and thus holding up “projects of national importance” aimed at supplying safe drinking water to rural homes.

Under JJM, projects worth Rs 58,000 crore were jointly approved to cover the Rs 1.75 crore rural households of West Bengal. Already, 56 per cent of households have been provided water connections with an expenditure of about Rs 30,000 crore, while schemes worth nearly Rs 28,000 crore are under implementation. Despite this, the centre has withheld Bengal’s rightful share since August 2024, the 4-page memorandum stated.

The delegation pointed out that for 2024-25, Rs 10,100 crore was allocated to West Bengal under JJM, out of which the present Central government was to contribute Rs 5,050 crore. But only Rs 2,525 crore was released, creating a deficit of Rs 2,525 crore. The state government of West Bengal not only released its share of Rs 4,557 crore as committed but also spent another Rs 369 crore, taking its total contribution to Rs 4,926 crore.

“It is seriously disturbing that the Government of India, rather than matching Bengal’s commitment, has not released half of its own. The consequence is that the West Bengal government has already released Rs 2,401 crore more than the Centre. Such discrimination directly impedes progress on a scheme connected to people’s basic rights,” the memorandum added further.

The MPs also complained that the centre made “no allocation at all” under JJM for West Bengal in 2025-26. “These denials and delays are denying crores of citizens access to clean drinking water and subjecting them to health risks and natural disasters,” the delegation said.

Aside from JJM, the TMC was alarmed about what it labelled as an “artificial flood crisis” due to DVC’s release of water.