Shillong, Sep 23: Public Health Engineering (PHE) Minister Marcuise Marak on Tuesday informed that the much-awaited Greater Shillong Water Supply Scheme-Phase III has achieved over 70 per cent progress and is likely to be commissioned by March next year.
Marak said that earlier hurdles related to land acquisition have been resolved. “Now that the issue has been sorted, full-scale construction will kick off very soon,” he assured.
At present, Shillong and the surrounding areas require 5.58 crore litres of water daily but receive only 4.17 crore litres—a deficit of 1.40 crore litres.
Localities such as Mawlai highlight the crisis starkly: demand there stands at 92.5 lakh litres, while supply meets just 64.7 lakh litres, leaving a shortfall of nearly 28 lakh litres every day.
On the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), the minister revealed that around Rs 700 crore in payments remain pending. The delay, he explained, was due to the Government of India’s earlier target of March 31, 2024, after which no decision was taken immediately. However, the Centre has now extended the scheme till 2028.
“The Government of India has to release the money earmarked for the Jal Shakti Ministry. As per the Finance Ministry’s mandate, an audit is being conducted, and once it is completed, the funds will be released to the states. As soon as we receive the money, we will clear the pending payments,” Marak said.
Acknowledging that the delay has impacted works under the mission, the minister noted that while some contractors have continued despite financial strain, others have been forced to halt. “We understand their hardship, but we assure that once payments are released, the dues will be cleared,” he added.
