Hazaribagh, Oct 30: Jharkhand Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister Yogendra Prasad on Friday directed officials and contractors to accelerate pending Jal Jeevan Mission projects, warning that accountability would be fixed for negligence and unnecessary delays in providing drinking water to the public.
The minister issued the directions during a high-level review meeting at the Hazaribagh Collectorate auditorium, where he assessed the progress of drinking water supply schemes in Hazaribagh, Ramgarh, Chatra and Koderma districts.
The review covered the progress of departmental schemes, pending works, Single Village Schemes (SVS), raw water and clean water rising mains, water treatment plants and other infrastructure related to drinking water supply.
Expressing displeasure over delays and the lack of smooth implementation of several schemes, Prasad said negligence in projects linked to a fundamental public need would not be tolerated. He directed officials to accelerate construction and ensure that water treatment plants and other drinking water infrastructure become fully operational.
The minister also instructed the district administrations to conduct regular reviews of the projects. He said compliance with the directions issued during the meeting and the updated progress of the schemes would be assessed at a follow-up review after three months.
Departmental Secretary Abu Imran stressed the need for effective utilisation of existing drinking water infrastructure. He directed officials to resolve implementation bottlenecks within stipulated timelines and ensure regular quality checks and continuous monitoring of construction work.
Action against stalled projects
During the review, projects that had stalled or failed to progress according to their prescribed timelines came under scrutiny. Instructions were issued to initiate action against the concerned contractors in accordance with applicable rules.
Abu Imran directed officials to issue legal notices to contractors who had failed to complete work within the stipulated period or had left projects incomplete. Further action, he said, must be taken in accordance with contractual conditions and relevant provisions.
Mission Director Shashi Ranjan instructed departmental officials to regularly review pending projects in their respective jurisdictions and ensure timely completion. He warned that action would be taken against contractors as well as officials whose negligence had contributed to delays or stalled projects.
Ranjan also directed officials to continuously monitor the status of schemes, identify and remove obstacles to their progress, and fix responsibility for delays.
The meeting was attended by Engineer-in-Chief Niranjan Kumar, Chief Engineer Reyaz Alam, the Deputy Development Commissioner of Koderma, the Municipal Commissioner and Additional Collector of Hazaribagh, the District Planning Officer, Executive Engineers of the Drinking Water and Sanitation Department, the minister’s OSD, senior departmental officials and contractors from the four districts.
