New Delhi/Imphal, Oct 8 (IANS) The opposition Congress on Wednesday alleged that a multi-crore scandal to the tune of several hundred crores has taken place in Manipur under the Centrally sponsored scheme Jal Jeevan Mission and demanded a court-monitored probe.

Congress Lok Sabha MP from Inner Manipur parliamentary constituency Angomcha Bimol Akoijam claimed that while the Jal Shakti Ministry data claims that tap water has been provided to about 80 per cent rural households in Manipur, there is nothing on the ground.

Akoijam said he has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Manipur High Court, seeking a court-monitored investigation into the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission in the state. He said the PIL has sought a comprehensive audit of funds sanctioned and utilised under JJM, district-wise; verification of household tap water connection claims made by the government; and recognition of access to safe drinking water as part of the fundamental Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution, with a minimum guarantee of two hours of daily tap water supply per household across the state.

The Congress MP, while talking to the media at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi, disclosed that he had personally tried to cross-check and verify the claims made in the government records by visiting many villages. To his shock and surprise, the academician-turned-politician discovered serious discrepancies between official claims and ground reality.

Even the pipes had not been laid, he claimed, adding that it was only after he raised the matter that the administration started laying out the pipes. This, Akoijam pointed out, belies the government’s own claims. On the one hand, it asserts that the work has been completed and tap water has been provided to people, while the government has started laying out the pipes. In reality, the pipe-laying has only just begun.

The Congress MP said that it was unfortunate that “the state had been looted at a time when it was going through a tragic phase, with violence taking place everywhere”. Giving details of the villages he visited, the Congress leader revealed that in every village, not a single household reported having a functional tap water supply, starkly contradicting the official claims.

Akoijam noted that it points to a “systemic issue of data manipulation and fund misappropriation under the Jal Jeevan Mission in Manipur.”

The senior Congress leader said that even before his visits to various villages, numerous complaints from different districts had highlighted similar irregularities. He observed that these recurring discrepancies across districts suggest possible large-scale misuse of public funds, lack of accountability, and failure in monitoring mechanisms by implementing agencies.

–IANS

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