Rajasthan Minister alleges Congress corruption in Jal Jeevan Mission
Public Health Engineering Minister Kanhaiya Lal Choudhary responded to allegations by former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot regarding water connection progress.
Rajasthan Public Health Engineering (PHE) Minister Kanhaiya Lal Choudhary on Saturday hit back at former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot regarding the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission. According to a report by ANI, Choudhary alleged that the Congress government turned the initiative into a hub for corruption between 2018 and 2023.
Choudhary claimed that the previous administration's handling of the scheme damaged the state's reputation. He alleged that pipelines were laid only on paper and water tanks were built without providing actual household connections. The Minister noted that the former PHE Minister had been jailed in connection with these matters.
The dispute follows a social media series titled ‘Budget Files’ launched by Gehlot. The Free Press Journal reported that in the first episode, Gehlot alleged the BJP government's performance in providing tap water connections has fallen short of what the Congress government achieved in a single year.
Gehlot claimed the Congress government provided 13.88 lakh tap water connections in one year, compared to 12.95 lakh connections by the BJP in three years. He stated that 44 lakh families in Rajasthan are still waiting for connections and suggested that at the present rate, it would take over three decades to reach them.
Choudhary stated that Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma travelled to Delhi to secure a deadline extension from the Central government to utilise lapsed funds. He said the current government has provided tap water to more than 15 lakh rural households so far.
