PVC pipes used for Jal Jeevan Mission in EGH; dept says villagers stole materials

WILLIAMNAGAR, Sep 25: In what can only be described as incredulous, an entire project under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) under Songsak C&RD Block in East Garo Hills (EGH) has been built using PVC pipes instead of the approved GI or HDPE, with the department now claiming that the villagers had stolen the pipes while construction was in progress.
The project in question was undertaken in the village and apparently completed in 2020 though as per the villagers, they are yet to see a drop of water in their homes from the undertaken construction.
The village comprises over 70 households with the total project cost pegged at just above Rs 25 lakh.
“Since the completion of the project our village has not received a drop of water from these pipes. The ring-well that they set up has been reduced to such an extent that even if water is in full flow, it will only reach 3-4 households. The tank they provided us has no water as the solar pump used in the ring-well cannot push water uphill. Overall the entire project has been in name only,” a local told this scribe during a visit to the village. Just to show that they had done nothing to with any form of theft, the villagers dug up the site through which pipes were provided revealing broken PVC pipes inside.
“Why will we steal pipes for a project that is meant to benefit us? We have been immensely cooperative with the department and even told them to not use PVC pipes as it would break easily and cause us problems. They just would not listen. If the sanction was not enough, why undertake the project and not seek a review,” said Rakbat Momin, a resident of the village.
As per PHE sources, the work for the project was given to one Sahidur Rehman, a contractor from West Garo Hills (WGH) who revealed that since the amount sanctioned was not enough to use GI pipes, an approval from the JE of PHE Songsak was verbally taken.
“As the money would not allow for GI pipes to be used, I sought approval for PVC pipes that were used in all homes. Once approved, I used the pipes,” said Rehman.
He confirmed that money for the project he had completed in the village has been released to him.
His confirmation has busted the words of the JE who had earlier claimed that GI pipes were stolen by the villagers. Further, most of the PVC pipes were dug underground and still remain for scrutiny for anyone interested in investigation.
What is even more interesting is the fact that despite the claims of theft by the department, no FIR has been lodged either by the contractor or the department, something that should have been done in such a serious matter.
The JE further claimed that a new project for the same village had been sent for approval after which he felt the situation would be taken care of. Whether a double approval of a project in a village where a similar project has already been completed can be made under JJM however remains a question.
What is even more interesting is that the entire project, despite the use of PVC pipes was passed by the third party inspectors, raising serious questions on the process of scrutiny undertaken and the neutrality of inspectors.
“The third party inspectors should have objected to the project in the first place as it was done using materials that have not been approved by the state government. In 2020, only GI pipes were approved. PVC has not been approved at all. So how is it that the third party inspectors chose not to raise the red flag despite the norms being violated? There is something extremely fishy about the entire situation,” said social activist TR Marak.