Shillong, Dec 17: The Government of India is expected to release funds for works worth Rs 700 crore taken up under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in January next year, according to PHE Minister Marcuise N Marak.
The decision was taken after the Centre’s recent meeting with chief engineers from all the states in the national capital.
“I was briefed by the Chief Engineer that the funds will be released in the month of January,” Marak told reporters on Wednesday.
The Centre has directed some states to rectify issues faced with JJM projects before releasing the funds, he said.
“Other states are having lots of issues and problems,” he said.
Expressing confidence in Meghalaya’s progress in this regard, he said the state has completed around 83% of the JJM work and is on track to complete it.
“Work is up to the mark, everything is on track here in Meghalaya. There are some discrepancies, which we are rectifying,” he said.
The Minister also mentioned that the state has pending bills worth Rs 700 crore, which are ready for payment after third-party inspections.
He emphasized that there are no major discrepancies in the state, but some officers will be taken to task if they fail to take action against contractors with pending projects.
“There is not much discrepancy in our state, but some officers need to take action against some of the contractors, those are pending. We have already directed the concerned officers, or else they will be taken to task.”
