India, Nov. 26 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ordered a freeze on new funding for the Jal Jeevan Mission after inspections found widespread discrepancies between reported tap connections and actual household water supply.

Field investigations revealed that many states were reporting completed infrastructure even though households were not receiving regular water.

The Centre flagged Assam and six other states for irregularities and recovered Rs 12.95 crore from a total penalty of Rs 129.27 crore for procedural, financial, and quality violations.

Assam submitted an action taken report after senior Central Nodal Officers conducted on-ground verification of water supply claims.

Nationwide, the mission, launched in 2019 with an outlay...