Former MLA Sanjay Pratap Jaiswal from Rudhauli constituency in Basti has written a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, requesting an investigation into the irregularities and poor quality work under the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme. He also met with the Minister of Jal Shakti, Swatantra Dev Singh, asking for action against those responsible for the mismanagement so that people can benefit from the scheme.
In his letter, the former MLA stated that during his visits to constituency 309 Rudhauli, local residents informed him about issues with the implementation of the government’s ambitious Jal Jeevan Mission. The responsibility for laying underground pipelines, constructing water head tanks, and other related work was given to firms like M/s Megha Engineering and Infrastructure, M/s VSA Infra Project, and M/s Jackson Vishwaraj.
Mismanagement in Jal Jeevan Mission
To ensure the smooth execution of the project, M/s Megha Engineering and Infra was supposed to appoint 13 technical staff. Although a two-day training for these staff was completed in 2021, no appointments have been made so far.
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The officials and employees responsible for the mission are not fulfilling their duties, which has led to growing mismanagement by the firms involved. These companies are subcontracting 30% of the work to smaller contractors, which is affecting the quality of the work, and there have been delays in payments to these contractors. The former MLA has requested the appointment of the required staff and a quality check of the ongoing work.
Complaint by the Former MLA
Sanjay Pratap Jaiswal also met with Jal Shakti Minister Swatantra Dev Singh and shared detailed information. He said that while laying the pipelines, the companies have not restored the damaged roads and sidewalks, causing inconvenience to the public and financial loss to the government.
The government’s clear instructions state that the responsible agency must restore the roads and sidewalks to their original condition after laying the pipelines and maintain them within a certain time frame. It has also come to light that in some cases, false reports of completed work have been submitted to the district administration, with fake signatures of village heads, including water head tanks, pipelines, and tap fittings.
Jaiswal added that payments were processed without any on-site inspection by responsible officials, which has affected the quality of the work and damaged the government’s image. He requested an investigation into the matter and legal action against the guilty firms and responsible officials. The Jal Shakti Minister has assured him that action will be taken.