4,185 JJM Schemes Defunct in Assam as Contractors Await ₹2,808-Crore Dues

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The Assam government is still to pay Rs 2,808 crore to the JJM (Jal Jeevan Mission) contractors. And it is not certain as to when Dispur will make this committed payment to the contractors.

After a central team made a field visit to the JJM works in Assam, the central government issued a 'standstill' order in October 2024, leaving various works of the mission half-done in the state. However, in March 2026, the central government lifted the 'standstill order', barring the 'retrofitting' and 'revised retrofitting' schemes. The JJM was launched in the state in 2019.    

The JJM contractors continue to request the state government to clear their bills, but to no avail, due to lack of funds. Initially, the central government bore the bulk of the funds required for the mission. However, the central government changed its guidelines regarding funding for the mission and tightened the purse strings.

In the recently concluded budget session of the state assembly, the state government came under scathing attacks from MLAs on the irregularities in the implementation of the JJM schemes.

Even the Ministry of Jal Shakti informed Parliament in March this year that as many as 18,790 complaints related to poor quality of JJM work, non-functional tap connections, and financial irregularities had been received from across the nation against the JJM. Assam ranks second in the number of complaints received.

According to Assam PHE Minister Krishnendu Paul, the state has 27,530 schemes under the JJM, and 15,400 of them are functional, and 4,185 are defunct. He said that 7,521 JJM schemes are under construction, 276 schemes are at the trial stage, and the work on 148 schemes is yet to start. The government is releasing funds to the gaon panchayats, anchalik panchayats and zila parishads for the repair of the non-functional projects.

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