Congress demands CBI probe into JJM halt; alleges massive commission scam

Guwahati, Oct 6: The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the halting of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) projects in Assam.

Calling it a “conspiracy” against the people of Assam, APCC chief Bhupen Borah lashed out at Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, urging him to clarify the issue and initiate a CBI investigation.

“It’s a serious issue as 64.37 lakh people in the state are suffering, waiting for JJM water while certain individuals enjoy mineral water. When the Secretary of the state’s Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department writes a letter highlighting discrepancies in the project, the public can well imagine the magnitude of the problem,” Borah told the press on Sunday.

Borah further claimed to have received several complaints from contractors associated with the project. Alleging that the government and its machinery are indulging in blatant procurement of commissions from the contractors, Borah said contractors are forced to give about 8% to 15% of the money allocated for the project as commissions to various individuals.

“The contractors are helpless. For instance, if a project is worth ₹2 crore, going by the 8% to 15% commission math, about ₹16 lakh is given away as commission even before acquiring the contract. We have information that commissions have also been paid to Vajpayee Bhawan,” the APCC chief alleged.

Borah added that most of these contractors are indigenous people of the state and, owing to these commissions, are now in a difficult situation.

“They are trying to make up for the money given as commission, leading to 'lapses in both project management and quality assurance’, as mentioned in the letter by the PHE Secretary. The letter also stated that the third-party inspection team compromised and overlooked the issues,” Borah said.

Earlier, construction activities of the JJM were halted in the state following the detection of large-scale irregularities.

In a letter issued on October 3, the PHED Secretary noted that "some contractors have not aligned with the established project deadlines" and that "continuous requests for extensions by some reveal non-compliance with project objectives, indicating potential lapses in both project management and quality assurance."

Due to these discrepancies, the department has initiated a "comprehensive exercise to review the current status" and, to facilitate the review, a standstill period has been ordered.

On paper, out of the 71,86,482 households targeted in the state, 58,34,056 have been provided tap water connections. However, PHED officials could not provide the actual number of functional schemes.