12 engineers suspended, action against 26 in UP over lapses in Jal Jeevan Mission works

NEW DELHI: The Uttar Pradesh government has taken action against 26 engineers for alleged negligence in the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission, with 12 of them suspended, an official statement said Wednesday.

The action follows complaints regarding the poor execution of works under the scheme aimed at providing tap water to every rural household. Officials described it as one of the biggest crackdowns against personnel of the state water corporation in recent times.

According to the statement, Additional Chief Secretary (Rural Water Supply) Anurag Srivastava ordered the suspension of 12 engineers of various ranks.

The engineers include: Avinash Gupta (Lakhimpur Kheri), Soumitra Srivastava (Jaunpur), Mohd Qasim Hashmi (Ghazipur), Amit Rajput (Chandauli), Sitaram Yadav (Chandauli), Akbar Hasan (Bijnor), Anurag Goyal (Auraiya), Kuldeep Kumar Singh (Hathras), Rajendra Kumar Yadav (Azamgarh), Roop Chandra (Bareilly), Avneesh Pratap Singh (Barabanki) and Dharm Prakash Maheshwari (Kushinagar).

The government has also ordered departmental inquiries against four engineers, while show-cause notices have been issued to three others over slow progress in project execution. Additionally, seven engineers have been transferred following complaints related to various schemes.

Srivastava said the government is working in mission mode to ensure tap water supply to every rural household and any negligence in this regard will not be tolerated.

He warned that strict action, including dismissal, could be taken if officials fail to improve their performance.

The action comes in the backdrop of a controversy on January 30 when Jal Shakti Minister Swatantra Dev Singh's convoy was stopped by BJP MLA Brijbhushan Rajput in Charkhari in Mahoba over complaints of roads not being repaired after pipeline work under the scheme, leading to a heated exchange between the two.

The controversy involving the ruling party MLA and the minister had hogged limelight with BJP also taking cognisance of the matter.
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