Authorities now set May deadline
JOWAI: Despite several deadlines announced by the State Government, particularly the PHE department, for commission of the much-awaited Centrally-sponsored water supply scheme for Jowai town from Umngot River, the project is yet to see the light of the day.
The water project is aimed at meeting the growing water demands of Jowai town and its surrounding villages including Mihmyntdu and Ialong villages. The PHE Department started work on the project in 2004-05 which was sanctioned under the Non- Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) by the Ministry of Urban Development in 2002. The project cost was estimated at Rs.1541.31 lakh.
The PHE department had initially set a 2008 deadline to commission the water project but on failing to do so, revised the completion date to March, 2012. The department failed to meet the deadline yet again. As the department came under criticism for failing to complete the work, the then PHE Chief Engineer, H Prasad, announced in an interview that the project would be completed by June, 2012.
However, June 2012 came and went by but the project was far from complete.
The PHE department has now set a new deadline of May next to commission the project, although the deadline has not been officially announced by the PHED.
While speaking to this scribe, a PHE Engineer said that the project would be completed by May 2014, even though he made it clear that he was not authorized to speak to the media. Despite all the claims, the ground reality at the construction site presents a dismal picture. A group of local media persons visited the project site on Tuesday and observed that the project may take much more time than what has been calculated by the PHED. Prominent residents of Jowai, while taking strong exception to the undue delay in commissioning of the vital project, had moved the then Shillong Bench of the Gauhati High Court through a writ petition, following which the court had directed the PHED to complete the Jowai Water Supply Scheme (JWSS) within a period of six months.
Responding to a petition filed by some prominent citizens of Jowai – Sajeki Passah, HH Mohrmen, CH Passah and DR Michael Buam – Justice T Vaiphei, in his directive issued on October 21, 2011, observed that it is a matter of concern to find the project which was inaugurated in 2003 is yet to see the light of the day.
