Shillong: Contractors are taking the state to court. The Khasi Jaintia Government Contractor and Supplier Association and 11 other entities filed a writ petition in the High Court of Meghalaya on October 27. They want their money back. Nearly Rs 900 crore remains tied up in unpaid Jal Jeevan Mission project bills, leaving businesses on the brink of collapse.
The contractors argue the Public Health Engineering Department failed to pay for completed works despite issuing completion certificates. These projects included gravity mains, distribution networks, and retrofitting schemes across Meghalaya. The department typically guarantees payment within 45 days, but those deadlines have long since passed. The contractors spent their own capital and took out bank loans to finish the jobs. Now, those debts are mounting.
A funding stalemate between the Centre and the state government has stalled the process. The petition claims officials are hiding behind administrative hurdles like expenditure reconciliation and the new JJM 2.0 memorandum of understanding to avoid paying for completed work. During a May 6 meeting, the PHE minister acknowledged the debt but failed to authorize the funds. The contractors state, "The subsequent introduction of JJM 2.0 cannot be used to deny payment for works sanctioned and executed under the earlier guidelines."
The association brought their grievances to the Chief Engineer on April 20, 2026, and held subsequent meetings in May and August. Officials eventually linked future payments to strict benchmarks like 75 percent financial progress and new geo-tagging requirements. The contractors reject these goalposts, claiming they cannot replace the government's existing legal obligations. The High Court will hear the case on November 3.
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