There is no corruption in JJM implementation: Marcuise N Marak

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaApril 25, 2025

Minister in-charge Public Health Engineering (PHE) Marcuise N Marak on Thursday said there is absolutely no corruption in the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in the state.

Marak also termed the allegations made by the AITC Rajabala MLA Dr Mizanur Rahman Kazi as “misunderstanding” and said, “works are on for all ongoing projects”.

“Corruption charges are there. But the way the JJM is being implemented is once you complete the work, there is a third party which inspects and recommends for payment and only then the government will go on and make payment for contractors. So, there is no chance of corruption,” he added.

The minister however revealed the JJM is facing a big challenge due to drying up of water sources.

“We are struggling with the issue of sources drying up which are already reflecting in the (list of) critical water sources,” he said while assuring that the government is trying to address the issue.

Further talking about the problem faced by the department, Marak said,”When the issue of the treatment plant definitely will be on somebody’s land so the land owners have to be consulted and when the landowner does not agree with the department or contractor then it gets delayed. So, to convince the land owner it takes time. There are issues of forest. We need to get an NOC from the forest department and for that also we are struggling. There are several procedures to go for forest NOC. These are some issues where we are stuck up otherwise all projects are going on in time.”

Meanwhile, the minister informed that the state has been given a target to complete the JJM implementation by 2028. “We will try to complete it (before the targeted time),” he assured.