Shillong, Aug 25: PHE Minister Marcuise N Marak on Tuesday said the Centre has allocated Rs 336.62 crore to Meghalaya under JJM 2.0 for 2026-27, but clarified that it is only a sanction and not a release, with actual disbursement linked to strict compliance norms and scheme completion.
Citing sanction letter issued by the National Jal Jeevan Mission under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Marak told the House that the break-up of the allocation is – Rs 2.36 crore as Central share against Additional State Share for SVS, Rs 171.46 crore as upfront release for SVS, MVS and piped water supply schemes, Rs 140.78 crore under reimbursement mode for MVS, Rs 15.73 crore for support activities and Rs 6.29 crore for water quality monitoring.
Asserting that Meghalaya has fared better than peers, he said, “This is in fact an allocation for JJM 2.0 for 2026-27. Considering Rs 336.62 crore has been allocated and earmarked for Meghalaya, this allocation is significant and much more than similarly placed North East or hilly states.”
At the same time, he cautioned, “It has to be understood that this is allocation and sanction of JJM funds, not release.”
Marak explained that the Ministry will release funds only after completion of mandatory procedures including financial audit of the last two years, creation of head of account by the Accountant General, scheme onboarding and functionality assessment.
“The exact same procedures are applicable and are being followed by all other states and only a few states have been able to comply, and mostly these are states seeking reimbursement for state funding of JJM,” he said.
The Minister said priority in release will be given to fully completed schemes.
“Release will be made first for 100 percent completed schemes, then 95-100 per cent, then 90-95 per cent and so on and so forth. It is therefore humbly requested that contractors may take steps to complete the schemes,” Marak said, adding, “Functionality of the completed schemes is also an important criteria for payments and a comprehensive exercise is underway to ensure functionality of completed JJM schemes.
”The statement came in response to concerns raised by UDP MLA from Nongpoh Mayralborn Syiem, who flagged two years of fund drought under JJM and mounting pending bills.
Syiem said, “We have seen for the past two years there is no funding under JJM, leading to hue and cry. Many contractors have time and again met the government for release of their bills, including for the Nongpoh water supply scheme.”
He sought an assurance on clearance of dues and urged the government to pursue the Centre for early release.
On depleting water sources, Syiem asked whether the state has mapped streams that have dried up or are declining.
Marak replied that the department has identified 785 critical water sources and that “necessary interventions to address them are underway.”
When Syiem pressed for fund allocation for restoration of these sources and asked the government to expedite work, the Minister said he did not have the figures readily available.
