Digdoh, Nildoh residents suffer as MJP contractor vanishes

Harsh Yadav (Nagpur)

The Maharashtra Jeevan Prdhikaran (MJP) has failed to complete the construction of the Rs 44 crore Nildoh and Digdoh water supply scheme. The three main water tanks proposed in the plan are yet to be built. The remaining work is of no use as there is no place for storing water coming from the Vena dam. This has created a water scarcity problem in the Digdoh and Nildoh villages, which have populations of over 30,000 and 15,000 respectively.

Two years ago, the administration had decided to build a water system of capacity 2 million litre per day (MLD) for Nildoh and Digdoh with a budget of Rs 44 crore. Under the scheme, a self-sustainable water system was going to be developed with the help of high-power pumps and direct connecting lines, three tanks, a water purification unit and an underground water pipeline in the two villages.

After two years since its start, the MJP has yet to find the location for the proposed two water tanks and complete construction of the third one. The main reason for this incompetence is the lack of accountability of the MJP contractor as evidenced by the continuous delay in the work.

Local organizations like Digdoh Janhit Samajik Sangathan (DJSS) have been continuously raising the issue of this failure of MJP. Recently, they approached MLA Sameer Meghe and informed him about the negligence
of the MJP.

Mangesh Lokhande, member of the DJSS, while talking to Lokmat Times, said, "In 2019, with the efforts of local MLA Sameer Meghe, the issue of Digdoh and Nildoh water crises reached the forefront as the MLA had requested the municipal body to solve this problem. However, things did not work on the agreed lines. Then to solve the problem once and for all a Rs 44 crore water scheme was made for the region. MJP awarded the work to a contractor from Beed. However, as soon as the work of the underground pipeline was completed, the contractor went missing. For close to 1.5 years, we have never seen the contractor."