TURA/ SHILLONG, March 6: The BJP has lambasted the PHE department for the alleged shoddy implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in the state.
A number of beneficiaries have complained of corruption in the implementation of the Mission. They alleged the beneficiaries are not covered without payment of bribes.
“People in Garo Hills are not happy with the sub-contractors implementing JJM in rural villages. The Prime Minister’s dream to connect all rural households with running water is not satisfactory to the public because of corrupt contractors,” BJP’s Tura MDC, Bernard Marak said in a statement on Sunday.
Two days ago, Governor Satya Pal Malik had told the Assembly that altogether 1,20,815 houses have been provided with functional household tap connections (FHTCs) out of the targeted 3,38,903 households for the 2021-22 fiscal under JJM.
He also said that 2,14,449 or 36.35% of the 5,89,888 rural households in the state have been covered under FHTCs and 100% households in 1,287 villages provided with tap water connections.
Marak claimed that most of the households covered under JJM do not have access to running water. He alleged the approved pipes have not been also provided to the public. “Plastic or old pipes have been used to connect households in some villages. Further, tanks were provided with no water supply. In some villages, huge amounts have been demanded (from beneficiaries) to get water supplied to houses,” the BJP leader alleged.
“People contributed and worked without wages but in the end, their aspiration to get running water has remained merely a dream. The state government should at least connect every household not only with pipes but also with running water,” he said.
The pipes for JJM need to be taken to households underground. However, in some pictures shared by Marak, plastic pipes can clearly be seen being hung on bamboo poles in one JJM project in North Garo Hills. Plastic pipes are not supposed to be used under the Mission.
What is more startling is that the entire setup has to be approved by a third party agency, thereby clearly indicating a collusion among PHE officials, contractors as well as the agency meant to check corruption in the welfare project.
According to sources, many of the projects under JJM have actually been undertaken by the employees of the PHE department in various districts in the names of their relatives and family members. As the contractors have taken more than five-six projects at a time in many cases, they have not been able to concentrate on even one properly.
Questions over the implementation of JJM are likely to be taken up during Question Hour of the Budget session on Monday.