Suvendu Adhikari’s first BJP cabinet in Bengal to begin journey with ₹2,700 crore ‘welcome gift’ under Jal Jeevan Mission
The Statesman | 10 May 2026
The first BJP-ruled government in West Bengal is set to start its journey on Saturday after the oath-taking ceremony. Along with the formation of the new cabinet led by the state’s first BJP Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, the incoming government is also expected to receive a major financial push. The Union Jal Shakti Ministry has cleared ₹2,700 crore for West Bengal under the national water supply programme, the Jal Jeevan Mission.
A formal communication regarding the approval reached the state secretariat, Nabanna, on Friday evening.
According to a source in the secretariat, the funds will be released to the state treasury once a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is signed between the Centre and the state government.
The ₹2,700 crore allocation had been pending for nearly two years. Officials familiar with the matter said the delay was mainly due to the earlier state government’s hesitation to accept the conditions attached to the MoU.
The previous Trinamool Congress government, led by Mamata Banerjee, had raised concerns over the terms of the agreement, which led to a stalemate. However, recent discussions between officials helped break the deadlock.
A meeting was held between senior secretaries of the Union Jal Shakti Ministry and the West Bengal Public Health Engineering Department. During the discussion, several issues were clarified. After this, the state side agreed to move forward by accepting the conditions laid out in the agreement.
The funds are part of the broader Jal Jeevan Mission, a central government programme launched in 2019. The scheme aims to provide safe and piped drinking water to every rural household across India.
The programme has now been extended as JJM 2.0, with a target timeline up to 2028. According to the latest figures available in early 2026, more than 15.8 crore households in India have already received tap water connections.
This accounts for nearly 81.87 percent of rural households.
Along with the water project, discussions have also started between the Union Health Ministry and the West Bengal Health Department regarding the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat scheme in the state.
This central health insurance programme was not introduced in West Bengal earlier. The previous state government had argued that its own health scheme, Swastha Sathi, already covered similar benefits.
Because of this disagreement, Ayushman Bharat remained out of implementation in West Bengal despite being active in most parts of the country.