DIMAPUR — The Nagaland Transparency Public
Rights Advocacy and Direct Action Organisation (NTPRADAO) has stated that it is
"highly amused" by the water and sanitation (WATSAN) committees of
around 20 villages under the PHED Dimapur Urban Division for their
clarification that all civil works under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) were
being supervised and successfully implemented by the respective village WATSAN
committees and that they are now awaiting the release of pending bills for the
works already completed.
In a press statement, the NTPRADAO reiterated its stance
that the "charge remains of the PHED misappropriation and siphoning
off" a major chunk of the INR 1,649.35 crore allocated for the Jal Jeevan
Mission (JJM).
The NTPRADAO stated that it will maintain its demand for a
special investigation team (SIT)/departmental inquiry commission (DIC) to
ensure complete transparency and a fair public trial in the alleged JJM scam.
According to the release, the NTPRADAO is preparing to
launch a mass protest demanding the resignation of PHED Minister Jacob Zhimomi,
the immediate suspension of PHED principal secretary Mhombemo Patton, and the
immediate filing of cases against Repangyangba Longkumer and N Thsathrichem
Sangtam, former chief engineers.
It would also demand the immediate suspension of all former
executive engineers who served, as well as some current executive engineers who
are serving and were involved in claimed corrupt practices between 2019 and
2024.
Regarding the "threat" by some WATSAN committees
that if the Jal Shakti Ministry withholds the remaining JJM funding due to the
PHED, the NTPRADAO would be held responsible and all pending bills would have
to be borne by it, the NTPRADAO stated that such an assertion is unwarranted
and is "wholly illegal, illogical, and nonsensical." It added that
this claim will "never hold water".
The NTPRADAO stated that the matter will de-escalate if the
PHED promptly announces the SIT or DIC without further delay.
“The NTPRADAO is standing for the rights of all the more
than 1,400 villages in Nagaland, and whatever some few WATSAN committees say
shall not end the matter and diffuse the escalating situation, which is heading
towards a worse-case scenario,” it read.
