Shillong: Meghalaya has successfully installed tap water connections in 542,527 households. This represents 83.94 percent of the state total. In August 2019, only 0.70 percent of homes had access to running water. The project has moved fast.
Out of 6,456 villages, 4,359 now have full coverage. Work continues in the remaining 2,086 villages. Officials have established 6,443 Village Water Sanitation Committees to manage the infrastructure.
District performance varies across the state. South Garo Hills leads with 91.68 percent coverage. East Garo Hills and South West Garo Hills also top 90 percent. East Khasi Hills sits at 84.84 percent. West Garo Hills lags behind the rest at 73.60 percent.
Despite this infrastructure growth, the mission faces financial gridlock. Contractors and suppliers are waiting for over 900 crore in unpaid bills. These groups are pushing for an immediate 50 percent release of pending funds. They say this is necessary to ensure local workers get paid. As one industry participant noted, "Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)-ni ning·o dongkuenggipa bill-rangko 50%-ni gita sorkarini on·ako contractor-rang aro Supplier-rang nangnnikenga."
The state government is working with the Ministry of Jal Shakti to resolve the logjam. The Public Health Engineering Department is now coordinating with local divisions to speed up the process. Authorities also recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the launch of Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0.
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