SHILLONG, June 22: Albeit more than 50 per cent of households in Meghalaya have been provided tap water connections under the Jal Jeevan Mission ever since its launch, the issue pertaining to dearth of water continues to plague the state capital with no immediate solution in sight.
While Meghalaya continues to revel in the pats on its back from the Centre for the smooth implementation of the JJM scheme, the water scarcity continues to loom large in Shillong, which is evident from the locals being coerced into buying the basic amenity at exorbitant rates.
The situation is so grim that some have even knocked on the doors of the High Court of Meghalaya with a hope for a solution to the water woes.
One such petitioner had complained that in the absence of regular supply of water to some areas, residents there are at the mercy of private water-tankers, who reportedly charge exorbitantly despite obtaining water free from the nearby rivers.
The petitioner had said that such unregulated proliferation of private water-tankers should be checked and a cap be put on the prices for each load of water.
Meanwhile, the dashboard of Jal Jeevan Mission states that as many as 3,32,384 households (51.37%) have been provided with tap water connection till date.
According to the dashboard, 75.45 per cent of the households in East Garo Hills district have been provided with tap water connection, while the percentage is mere 37.31 per cent in East Khasi Hills district.
Only in April, the Ministry of Jal Shakti had sanctioned an additional grant-in-aid of Rs 299.24 crore to Meghalaya for the third straight year for providing functional household tap connections under the JJM.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, on the other hand, had said that the state government has set an ambitious target of providing tap water connections to all 6.3 lakh households by April 2024.
