Shillong, June 23: The Public Health Engineering (PHE) department on Saturday refuted allegations of irregularities in the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in Garo Hills region.
In a statement, PHE Additional Chief Engineer said, “We have made significant progress in providing drinking water supply to villages across the state including Garo Hills. However, the project is still ongoing and we are resolving different challenges we face during the implementation phase. While there are challenges such as objections to water sources, land acquisition issues etc, these are actively being addressed by our field engineers.”
The official said that delays in few projects are mainly due to unavoidable obstacles like climatic conditions and logistical issues, which have made some contractors extend their timelines adding that it is important to emphasize that no villages will be left out in the completion process of the JJM.
“Thus, we urge the citizens not to fear that contractors might abandon the projects.
There is a significant gap in public understanding and dissemination of information regarding the current status of JJM schemes, leading to unnecessary assumptions and allegations,” the Additional CE said while assuring that despite these challenges, “our field officers are working tirelessly to ensure the successful implementation of the scheme”.