Shillong, April 17: The Jaintia National Council (JNC) Western Zone on Friday served an ultimatum of two months to the Public Health Engineering department to address the issue of alleged improper implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in West Jaintia Hills district.
A delegation led by the JNC Western Zone president Hamehi Bamon met the department’s executive engineer of the Electricals Division and the EE of the Civil Division to flag their concern on the issue.
Bamon stated that following verbal complaints from residents, it found that many villages had completed water tanks and pipelines, but the project had stalled without household supply.
“This situation has caused significant frustration among the residents and the council, as many constructions have been left in disrepair without a functioning water supply, resulting in mere frames without any actual water delivery,” he said.
“Although several villages have been acknowledged by the department as having implemented the project, the execution method appears illogical and fails to benefit the community.”
The Council claimed only partial work had been done. It highlighted that under the Jal Jeevan Mission, only 25% of the work has been completed, raising concerns about potential misuse of funds and a lack of departmental oversight regarding the rights of the people.
“The JNC has called on these Executive Engineers to expedite efforts to ensure water delivery to all villages and areas lacking adequate water supply and where the water distribution system is not functioning effectively,” it said.
Bamon said that the PHE officials assured the Council that they would take prompt action in the coming days to enhance and inspect the situation in the villages, particularly in those areas where water is not reaching the households or is not being supplied from the tanks.
“The council advises the Department to address this complaint within a 2-month timeframe. If it determines that the matter is not being handled as requested, it will escalate the issue through more assertive measures,” he stated.
