Assam: 1.5 crore Jal Jeevan Mission Scheme built illegally on the site of NH 127B

A newly built Jal Jeevan Mission site in the Dhubri district is in dilapidated situation as a result of a careless and wrong decision made by the department officials of Public Health Engineering (PHE) in Dhubri.

The water supply centre for the Jal Jeevan Mission site in village Kismat Hasdaha P-lll, under Kalarhat Gaon Panchayat, Dhubri, which was nearly estimated at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore and was built illegally on the site of National Highway 127B, the approach road for the Dhubri-Phulbari bridge which is currently under construction. It included a ground reservoir water tank as well as underground boring and other vital equipment.

It may be recalled that before the construction of the Dhubri-Phulbari bridge began, a departmental report was sent to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) by the Dhubri district administration for the construction of the National Highway 127B from Adabari in Dhubri to Srirampur in Kokrajhar via village Kismat Hasdaha, Dhubri in 2016.

According to the local residents, PHE authorities chose the location despite being aware that the four-lane National Highway 127B was approved before the Jal Jeevan Mission Scheme at the then-proposed site. As a result, the recipients of the central government's free scheme will face a loss, consequently being prohibited from receiving drinking water for a wrong decision.

As per official data, there are 535 households with tap connections in the village Kismat Hasdaha P-lll, under Kalarhat Gaon Panchayat including 4 schools and 3 Balwadi/Anganwadi centre's. The locals in the area claims that the officials of PHE are involved in money extraction and to fulfill their pocket they give permission to the contractor to complete the work.

Earlier, the villagers had expressed opposition to the project and requested the authorities locate it somewhere else nearby that would benefit the inhabitants. Now, the finished project of the JJM has failed, and the villagers blame it entirely on the incompetence of the dishonest contractor and the officials of PHE.

Following the catastrophe, the public criticised the Public Health and Engineering Department (PHE) of being negligent in how it handled the 1.5 crore project that was integrated. 535 homes in the village with tap connections will, as a result, once more be denied access to the government's free scheme.
 

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