SHILLONG: Although the State of Meghalaya received an Award in 2022 for “successfully” implementing the Central Government’s Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) Scheme, behind this achievement lies the hard work of the Contractors who are now facing difficulties due to the Government’s failure to release the payments/Bills for the work they have already completed under the scheme.
Today, the All Jaintia Contractors and Suppliers Association (AJCSA) came to the Shillong Press Club to voice their grievances and demands.
They are calling upon the State’s Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department to immediately release the outstanding Bills of the Contractors who executed the JJM Scheme.
Speaking to the press, Welcoming Langi, President of the AJCSA, expressed his deep concern and stated that contractors in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills are facing hardship because the Government has not yet released the JJM funds for the work completed, and they appeal to the Government to release the money that has been pending for many years.
He informed that for the year 2024-25, the Government has only released funds for two Divisions: RWS Jowai Division: ₹1,17,14,563 and Electrical Division Jowai: ₹47,01,86,864.
Langi added, “We express our serious concern because the delay in payment has been long. Many of the contractors who implemented this scheme had to take loans to complete the work. This has created difficulties for the contractors.”
The contractors have repeatedly met with the Chief Engineer (CE) of the PHE Department to follow up on the matter, but the response they receive is that the Central Government has not yet released the Bill amount.
“We sought clarification from the CE regarding this fund,” he said. “The CE told us that this money was sanctioned by the CE and would be sent to the two divisions later. However, we want the remaining money, which is over ₹700 crore, and we do not know where it is. They only say we will get it, but they don’t know when.”
He mentioned that the CE had promised to release the funds in November, but they have received no information until now. Bah Langi stated that to ascertain whether the Central Government has indeed released the JJM funds, they will file an RTI (Right to Information) to find the truth because they are not getting a clear answer about the non-receipt of this money.
As of now, the government has only released a total of ₹1,60,15,94,427. “We will file an RTI concerning the funds they have not been able to release, because out of the ₹700 crore, the Jaintia region is where the Contractors carried out the most JJM work,” he said.
They also complained that the payment released in 2024-25 is only a running bill, not the final bill, which they argue should not be the case because the JJM is distinct from other schemes as it is a Central Government scheme.
The contractors were promised quick payment of the Bill, so they rushed to complete the work. Third-party inspections were conducted and the work was found satisfactory, yet they have not received the payment until now.
The Contractors have warned that if the Government fails to pay or promptly release the Bills, the Contractors will take stringent measures, including approaching the court of law.
