Assam: Dispur directs action against poor-performing contractors of JJM schemes

Slow progress of JJM scheme

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: State Chief Secretary Dr. Ravi Kota issued a directive to cancel and forfeit the bank guarantees of the poor-performing contractors who have abysmally slowed down the execution of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) schemes across the state.

The Chief Secretary reviewed the piped water supply projects under JJM schemes today.

The Chief Secretary directed that action be taken to debar the poor-performing contractors from working on contracts in other departments of the state government as well. The Chief Secretary further directed that for the slow-performing contractors, liquidated damages as per the contract conditions might be levied for undue delays in execution.

During the review, it was noted that, until now, 14,151 piped water supply schemes have been completed, and 12,109 of them have been handed over to the P&RD Department for operation and maintenance. It was also noticed that to ensure the sustainability of the schemes, 9,537 jal mitras have been engaged by the respective water user committees, who are responsible for the functioning of the schemes. Furthermore, 15,967 jal mitras have been trained, and customised uniforms and toolkits for jal mitras are also made available.

It is pertinent to note here that when the Jal Jeevan Mission was announced, Assam had only 1.6 percent (1.1 lakh functional household tap connections, or FHTCs) of rural households with access to drinking water, compared to the national average of 17 percent at that time. As of date, over the last 4.5 years, with nearly two years lost due to COVID-19, the coverage of rural household water connections stands at 79 percent (56.5 lakh FHTCs) against the national coverage at 77 percent.

To overcome the constraints and make Har Ghar Jal a reality, efforts are being made to recruit and re-assign skilled manpower by engaging technical resources from other engineering departments. Capacity-building sessions are organised at regular intervals for the newly engaged engineers, such as crash courses, online workshops, exposure visits, and refresher programmes at various levels. Additionally, regular training sessions for contractors are also being conducted for effective implementation of the project at the grassroots level.

Another important step taken is the initiative of engaging jal doots and the regular conduct of jal shalas across the state for effective community participation and, at the same time, educating the communities about the traditional and sustainable practices of water conservation. So far, nearly three lakh students from classes VII to XII are engaged in this initiative, and over 5000 jal shalas have been conducted.

Also Read: JJM Scheme Failure in Lower Lampi Area Raises Concerns; Villagers Left Without Promised Water Supply (sentinelassam.com)

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