WJH village locals, group flag anomalies worth Rs 7 crore in JJM implementation

SHILLONG, March 16: Residents of Ksehrynshang village in West Jaintia Hills, alongside the Hynniewtrep Integrated Territorial Organization (HITO), have raised serious concerns over the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) projects, alleging irregularities in works valued at over Rs 7 crore.
Speaking to media persons here on Monday, the former Sordar of Ksehrynshang, Lidar Papiah, stated he came forward to clarify issues surrounding the scheme’s execution in the village.
Papiah, who is also a HITO member, explained that information obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act from the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department revealed the work was not carried out in accordance with the sanctioned amount.
According to him, the work order for the Ksehrynshang combine totalled approximately Rs 4.7 crore. However, during an inspection, villagers found that only about half of the project was complete.
He alleged that nearly 30 per cent of the sanctioned funds remained unutilised.
Papiah noted that villagers had requested an official inspection following the RTI findings, but authorities failed to visit the site.
He further alleged that a dam project sanctioned for over Rs 1 crore showed minimal progress on the ground, with locals estimating the actual expenditure at less than Rs 50,000.
He also claimed that several water tanks that had existed in the villages for years were merely repainted and renovated, yet presented as new installations under the JJM scheme.
Urging the authorities to intervene, Papiah called on the PHE department and the Deputy Commissioner’s Office to conduct an immediate inspection to verify whether the executed work matches the sanctioned orders and financial allocation.
He added that the villagers and HITO would continue to pursue the matter to ensure transparency.
Furthermore, Papiah mentioned the contractor claimed to have spent personal funds to ensure the water supply reached around 90 households because the project had not received government sanction.
“But I rejected this claim of the contractor,” the former Sordar added.
Meanwhile, social activist Balajied Jyrwa pointed out that the scheme sanctioned for five villages amounted to nearly Rs 6-7 crore, but the executed work did not correspond to the financial allocation. He alleged that several pieces of infrastructure, such as public water storage tanks, were already in existence and had only been refurbished and repainted before being attributed to the new scheme.
“There are many discrepancies that villagers have found during inspections and through RTI information. The sanctioned amount and the work carried out do not tally,” Jyrwa said.