NEW DELHI, Sept 12: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday attacked the BJP government in Gujarat over a CAG report highlighting serious shortcomings in the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission, including water contamination, project delays and financial irregularities.
Kharge alleged that after nearly three decades of BJP rule in Gujarat, people were still struggling to access safe drinking water despite repeated government claims about providing tap connections to every household.
“Modi ji’s ‘Har Ghar Jal’ claims have been washed away in contaminated water,” Kharge said in a post on X, referring to the audit findings on water quality in the state.
He recalled the “Sujalam-Sufalam” scheme launched when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was Gujarat chief minister, saying that despite the promises made over the years, people in several parts of the state continued to face water-related problems.
Kharge also targeted the Jal Jeevan Mission, alleging that the CAG report had exposed shortcomings in the government’s claim of achieving 100 per cent tap-water connections in Gujarat in 2022.
“14 lakh households are still waiting for water,” he alleged.
The Congress president further claimed that residents in several regions were facing serious consequences because of contaminated water. Referring to reports from Dholka in Ahmedabad district, he alleged that 54 people had died of cancer after consuming polluted water.
He also pointed to water shortages in parts of Saurashtra, including Rajkot and Jamnagar, and said farmers in the Kutch-Saurashtra region continued to struggle amid drought conditions.
Kharge alleged that the BJP government had spent years projecting an image of development while failing to resolve basic problems concerning drinking water and agriculture.
“Gujarat’s people were shown dreams of a ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047, but 28 years of BJP rule have only peddled false propaganda, flaunted fake colourful pictures and thrown dust in the people’s eyes,” he said.
The Congress chief also used the names of the state’s earlier water initiative to take a swipe at the BJP, saying there was neither “Sujalam”, referring to clean water, nor “Sufalam”, associated with fertile and prosperous agricultural land.
The CAG report, which was tabled in the Gujarat Assembly on Friday, flagged significant deficiencies in the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission across the state.
According to the audit, nearly 89 per cent of water samples tested in selected villages were found unfit for consumption. The report also pointed to shortcomings in water-quality testing, delays in the execution of projects and financial irregularities.
The audit further found instances of incorrect calculations and inadmissible expenditure that led to excess payments to contractors amounting to crores of rupees.
The CAG assessment covered the implementation of the scheme in Gujarat between 2019-20 and 2023-24.