Shillong, Dec 9: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Tuesday said that the central government has stopped funding to all states for implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) and, therefore, contractors are not getting their bills paid.
The JJM is a mission mode programme to provide piped potable water to all unconnected homes. It was supposed to end in March 2024 and the cabinet of the central government decided to stop funds.
The Chief Minister informed that in November-December last year the government decided to extend the JJM until all ongoing projects are concluded. That gave scope for the Finance Department to go ahead with the processing of the bills that came after March 2024.
“But the problem that happened again was that the cabinet put in a condition that an audit will be conducted for all the schemes throughout the country and only once it (the audit) is completed and based on that the Finance Ministry will release the funds,” the CM said, adding that contractors in all states are facing the same difficulties.
Recently, the All Jaintia Contractors and Suppliers Association demanded the clearance of pending bills for work done under JJM projects in the state.
According to the association, the government is yet to clear bills worth several crores of rupees since 2019. The pending amount in the entire state is Rs 700 crore.
