GUWAHATI: The Assam government has ordered a halt to all ongoing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) projects due to concerns over delays, quality issues, and poor project oversight. The decision follows a review of contractor performance, which revealed multiple cases of missed deadlines and substandard project management.
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Under the JJM, a completion deadline of six months was stipulated to the contractors in the context of the Single Village Schemes, but several requests for deadline extension and quality lapses have raised alarm. This also seems to indicate a lack of adequate supervision by third-party inspection agencies responsible for ensuring time-bound delivery of projects and maintaining the standard quality of work.
"Continuous requests for extension of timelines by some of the contractors reveal non-compliance with the project objectives, indicating potential lapse in both the project management and quality," a letter from Secretary to Public Health Engineering Department-cum- Mission Director, Jal Jeevan Mission, Kailash Karthik N to the Chief Engineer, PHE, Water and Additional Chief Engineers said.
In view of this, the government has immediately halted construction activities for all ongoing JJM schemes. The work will remain on hold until a thorough audit can be conducted to assess both the progress and quality of the projects. The audit will evaluate not only the contractors' work but also the performance of inspection agencies and DPR (Detailed Project Report) preparation teams.
All procured pipes and tanks are to be safely stored by contractors till further notice.
The projects which have been handed over and operational will continue to deliver without interruption.
Meanwhile, for schemes that are completed in all aspects except for the process of formal handing over, the Districts/Divisions are to ensure that all the required documentation and formalities are completed promptly and the schemes taken over by the Panchayat & Rural Development Department/Water User Committees, the letter added.