Jaipur: The legal troubles of former Rajasthan IAS officer Subodh Agarwal have intensified after the Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) reportedly sought formal government permission to prosecute him in connection with the alleged ₹979-crore Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scam.
According to investigators, the ACB believes it has collected documentary and witness evidence linking senior officials and contractors to alleged irregularities in the awarding of high-value water supply contracts under the Union government's Jal Jeevan Mission. The agency has requested the mandatory sanction required for prosecution under applicable anti-corruption laws.
The investigation alleges that two private firms secured contracts worth approximately ₹979 crore by submitting forged completion certificates purportedly issued by IRCON. Investigators claim officials ignored warnings regarding the authenticity of those documents, allowing the firms to remain eligible for major public contracts across Rajasthan.
The ACB has already filed a 17,500-page chargesheet in the broader case, detailing alleged manipulation of the tender process, forged documentation, and procedural violations. Multiple engineers, public officials, and private individuals have previously been arrested as part of the investigation, while authorities continue examining the roles of senior decision-makers.
Subodh Agarwal has denied wrongdoing in earlier legal proceedings, maintaining that many of the questioned tenders predated his tenure and that appropriate departmental action was initiated after concerns were raised. The allegations remain under judicial consideration, and no court has determined guilt.
The case has become one of Rajasthan's highest-profile anti-corruption investigations, with political and administrative implications for the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission, a flagship rural drinking water programme intended to provide tap water connections to households across India.
