BJP govt misused Jal Jeevan Mission funds: Mukesh Agnihotri

Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 22

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri today said in the Assembly that the previous BJP government had misused funds under the Jal Jeevan Mission to purchase pipes worth Rs 2,000 crore to get political mileage in the last Assembly elections.

Bhattiyat MLA Kuldeep Pathania and Dharamsala MLA Sudhir Sharma had sought information on the issue during the Question Hour. Agnihotri said, “Government funds were blatantly misused for purchasing pipes from 13 firms just to retain power but even that did not help the BJP.”

Agnihotri, who also holds the Jal Shakti portfolio, said that the previous BJP government instead of enhancing water sources to ensure proper supply laid thrust on purchasing pipes. This was tantamount to misuse of public money. “The Jal Jeevan Mission was to end in 2024 but the previous BJP government was in a hurry to secure political dividends and the scheme ended two years in advance,” he alleged.

Kuldeep Pathania said, “The government must clarify whether the pipes were purchased on the recommendation of the purchase committee with quality checks, as one can see piles of pipes dumped all across the state.” He claimed that the quality of pipes remained the same but the names of firms based in Odisha, Delhi and Ghaziabad kept changing.

Dharampur MLA Chander Shekhar said that the government should come out with a White Paper on the purchase of pipes by the Jal Shakti Department to present a clear picture. “The fact that you (Chander Shekhar) won the election from Dharampur is the biggest White Paper on the purchase of pipes,” said Agnihotri.

To questions asked by Paonta Sahib MLA Sukh Ram Chaudhary and Naina Devi MLA Randhir Sharma, Agnihotri informed the House that 9.22 lakh water tap connections had been given under the Jal Jeevan Mission and only 36,463 connections were pending. “Today, the situation is like ‘Nal bin jal’, as the previous government had installed taps without enhancing water sources,” he said.

The Deputy Chief Minister assured the members that though the Jal Jeevan Mission had ended, the department would give tap connections on demand to everyone. He refuted BJP allegation that all works in the Jal Shakti Department had come to a standstill, as the payments of contractors had been stopped.

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