NC MLA resists sanction sought by PHE Ministry
*BJP legislator suggests CBI probe
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, June 4: Amidst uproar and submission of separate notes, the House Committee on Jal Jeevan Mission Irregularities set up by Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather following massive uproar in the House during budget session of the Legislature in March 2025, finalized and adopted its report in Srinagar this afternoon.
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The report will reach the Speaker, who announced constitution of the House committee on March 22, 2025 and nominated 13 members to the Panel, tomorrow or a day after.
Sources confirmed to the Excelsior that the Committee headed by Justice (Retd) Hasnain Masoodi has pointed out irregularities in implementation of the JJM Scheme in Jammu and Kashmir. When approached by the Excelsior for comments, Masoodi said the report has been finalized and it will reach the Speaker. Everything will be clear soon, he added.
The Committee comprised MY Tarigami (CPM), Ali Mohammad Dar, Aijaz Jan, Tanvir Sadiq, Altaf Kalloo, Javaid Reyaz and Arjun Singh Raju (all NC), Rajiv Jasrotia and RS Pathania (BJP), Rafiq Ahmad Naik (PDP), Iftikhar Ahmed (Congress) and Muzaffar Iqbal Khan (Independent).
Sources said Pathania submitted a separate note to the Committee pointing out very specific irregularities in the JJM and called for CBI/premier agency probe into them.
Sources said ruling party MLA Aijaz Jan objected to a letter written by the PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Ministry yesterday to the House Committee seeking approval worth Rs 3000-4000 crore for the works for UT Capital Expenditure saying the Panel has no such power.
“This is the job of PHE department and not the House Committee to grant sanction for Rs 3000-4000 crore worth payment. Why they want to take our stamp?’’ he asked.
Jan is reported to have said that many works under the JJM haven’t been completed on ground and that there are large scale irregularities in implementation of the scheme.
While expressing disagreement with the report, BJP MLA RS Pathania submitted a separate note to the Committee mentioning several irregularities in purchases and implementation of the JJM scheme and suggested that the matter should be referred to the CBI or any other premier agency for the probe.
“The complexity and inter-departmental nature of alleged irregularities, combined with the defence offered, make a premier agency investigation essential. The allegation of a scam potentially involving is of a scale that demands investigation beyond the UT level. The defence relies on orders from the General Administration Department, advice from the Finance Department, and directives from the NJJM/GoI. A premier agency is best equipped to investigate potential collusion or procedural compromises across multiple Government departments and Central bodies,’’ the disagreement note submitted by Pathania, and accessed by the Excelsior, said.
It said the allegations include Sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and well planned criminal conspiracy to commit financial irregularities. It added that the department’s denial is insufficient and only a neutral, external policy agency can investigate the alleged criminal intent. The note further read that the response from the Mission Directorate of the Jal Jeevan Mission, while detailed, appears to be an effort at window dressing by substituting specific evidence with administrative rule citations, warranting CBI probe to establish truth of procurement rates, contract integrity and administrative malafide.
Rajiv Jasrotia, BJP MLA from Jasrota (Kathua district) said he was asked to sign the report but he insisted that his note on the JJM irregularities should be taken and incorporated.
He said even in his own constituency, only 19 out of 80 schemes have been completed while a reply given by the Government in the Assembly stated that 80 percent works have been completed. And, if the schemes have been completed, why there is no water? Payments to the contractors in such cases should be stopped, Jasrotia said.
While setting up the House Committee, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather had stated that there had been a constant demand from several Legislators regarding constitution of such a House Committee since start of the Budget session.
“House is supreme and several members have expressed their serious concern over alleged misuse of funds under Jal Jeevan Mission. Being custodian of the House, it becomes my responsibility to address the concern of members and there is no harm in formation of a House Committee to probe the alleged irregularities,” he had said.
The committee’s extended term ended on May 31, 2026
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