NTPRADAO rejects PHED minister’s defence of JJM implementation in Nagaland

DIMAPUR — The Nagaland Transparency Public Rights Advocacy & Direct Action Organisation (NTPRADAO) has dismissed PHED Minister Jacob Zhimomi’s recent televised defence of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) implementation in the state, calling it “unjustified” and a misrepresentation of ground realities.

While welcoming the minister’s announcement of a departmental “Enquiry Commission” headed by the Principal Secretary of PHED to probe the INR 1712.03 crore “mega financial scam”, the organisation insisted on the inclusion of one of its technical experts as an “associate member.”

Also read: Nagaland PHED minister Jacob rejects allegations of JJM scam, promises inquiry

“If not agreed upon, the NTPRADAO will outrightly reject it and stand by its original demand for an independent ‘SIT’ concurrently with a white paper presentation”, it said in a press release.

Read more: Nagaland organisation alleges INR 1,712 crore scam in Jal Jeevan Mission, demands SIT probe

The organisation contended that an “enquiry commission without any independent watchdog will only be a ‘whitewash’ to hand over clean chit to the PHED. Since all the documentary evidence with videos, photos and measurements are with NTPRADAO, it has to be thoroughly verified at grassroots level through the enquiry commission.”

Furthermore, the NTPRADAO issued a point-by-point rebuttal to the minister’s claims, citing discrepancies between official JJM portal data and the actual situation on the ground. They provided examples from various villages across multiple districts including Peren, Kiphire, Phek, Wokha, and Tuensang, where reported functional household tap connections (FHTC) on the JJM portal far exceed the actual number of connections provided.

In some cases, villages listed as having FHTC coverage have no water supply at all while in certain villages “only two pieces of pipes each were issued to 312 households without an on/off water tap device”.

“Since it was not sufficient, the villagers procured rubber pipes with their own money to fix reaching up to their houses,” it maintained.

The organisation stated that it has “hundreds upon hundreds of villages’ data to show that JJM ground level implementation is very poorly executed at the ground level.”

The NTPRADAO also disputed the minister’s assertion that the PHED merely supervises the project, questioning how the department could “turned blind eye to officially certify it, when the WATSAN and the contractors were building sub-standard water storage tanks.”

It also refuted the minister’s reply on the quality of pipes, stating that the organisation had never mentioned anything about the quality of pipes used.

Further refuting the minister’s claims about insufficient funds, the NTPRADAO cited data from the Ministry of Jal Shakti’s JJM dashboard, indicating that a total of INR 1649.35 crore have been allocated to Nagaland for JJM implementation from FY 2019-20 till date.

“The NTPRADAO further clarifies that out of total allocation of INR 125 crore by the 15th Finance Commission grants, 50 % of which mandatorily to be utilised for water supply; the RD department is the nodal agency with PHED giving only technical support”, the press release stated.

“The minister claims he has not received the complete funds. The NTPRADAO makes it clear whatever funds INR 1649.35 crore sanctioned by GoI along with 10 % from state share, are in the Ministry of Jal Shakti’s JJM portal for all to see. It is his department’s responsibility to get all the earmarked funds for completion of the rest of the JJM scheme,” it added.

In response to the minister’s defence of past and present PHED officers, the NTPRADAO maintained that “all the officers from past i.e. two ex. chief engineers/EE’s to present officers have been involved in the misappropriation of funds and they all are aware of it. When even the top official i.e. principal secretary’s village is very poorly implemented, what good can be expected from all over Nagaland,” it alleged.

The organisation went on to state that the minister’s claim that “third party evaluation/monitoring report and concurrence has been done by the central government’s independent third party and submitted to the Ministry of Jal Shakti” are likely to be biased.

“Everybody knows that the central government led by BJP will handle Nagaland’s PHED with kid gloves and blindly certify it,” it said.

Meanwhile, asserting that “there is absolutely no ulterior motive to tarnish the PHED minister’s public image”, the NTPRADAO said that its actions are driven by public interest and that they will pursue further action, including mass agitation and public protests, if the departmental inquiry fails to address their concerns.