The North News
Shimla, February 18
Funds of Jal Jeevan Mission were used to build rest houses during the tenure of the previous BJP government in Himachal Pradesh, and now the state government would have to pay for them, the deputy chief minister said on Wednesday.
Replying to a question of Congress MLA from Dharampur assembly constituency, Chander Shekher, during the question hour, the Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said that Jal Jeevan mission funds were not used to provide water to the people but to build 19 rest houses.
As many as 12 rest houses were built in the Dharampur Assembly constituency alone, of which seven have been completed, while five are under construction.
A sum of Rs 37.85 crore was spent on the construction of rest houses, which was against the mandate of the mission, and the central government has now refused to reimburse this amount. The state government will now have to pay this amount from its own treasury, Agnihotri, who also holds the Jal Shakti department, said.
He informed that Himachal Pradesh has been sanctioned Rs 6,395 crore from the central government under the Jal Jeevan Mission.
Of this, the state has received Rs. 5,167 crore, while a sum of Rs 1,227 crore is still pending. A total of 1,747 schemes have been approved for the state under this mission. Of these, 1,100 schemes are ongoing, while the rest are pending.
He said that Rs 1,450 crore was sanctioned for the Dharampur Assembly constituency, out of which works worth Rs 650 crore have been completed. The remaining work will be completed when funds are received under the mission.
Agnihotri said that the previous BJP government had written to the Central government stating that the Jal Jeevan Mission had been completed in the state. Consequently, the Central government had withheld the remaining funds approved for Himachal. He said that he had met with Union ministers several times regarding the release of the remaining Rs 1,227 crore.
After repeated efforts by the state government, the Central government agreed to release this money but stipulated that water schemes under this mission would be built only up to the water tank level and that any further work beyond that would be handled by the Rural Development Department, he added.
Moreover, the Union government also stipulated that a monthly bill of Rs 100 be charged from each household, while the poor people be charged Rs 30 per month.
The deputy chief minister stated that no rest house can be built in the state without cabinet approval, but the norms were not adhered to.
