₹37 Crore from Jal Jeevan Mission Used for Rest Houses in Mandi: Mukesh Agnihotri

Himachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri on Wednesday alleged that ₹37.58 crore from the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) was used to construct 19 rest houses in Mandi district during the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regime, despite there being no provision for such expenditure under the scheme.

Replying to a query by Dharampur MLA Chandershekhar in the Assembly, Agnihotri — who also holds the Irrigation and Public Health portfolio — said the funds were utilised in Dharampur and Seraj Assembly segments.

₹37.58 Crore Spent on 19 Rest Houses

According to the Deputy CM:

• 12 rest houses were constructed in Dharampur at a cost of ₹26.11 crore
• 7 rest houses were built in Seraj for ₹11.47 crore

He stated that the Centre has clarified that expenditure on these rest houses would have to be borne by the state government, as there was no mandate under JJM for such works.

“Work on two rest houses is still incomplete, while ₹1.42 crore is being spent annually on maintenance and staff for these 19 facilities in Dharampur and Seraj alone,” Agnihotri said.

He added that no rest house can now be constructed anywhere in the state without prior Cabinet approval.

₹1,227 Crore JJM Funds Still Pending

Agnihotri informed the House that Himachal Pradesh was sanctioned ₹6,395 crore under JJM by the Centre, of which only ₹5,167 crore has been released so far.

• ₹1,227 crore remains pending
• The state has already completed ₹600 crore worth of works from its own funds, awaiting reimbursement

He said he has approached the Centre multiple times for the release of the pending amount.

Status of Schemes

A total of 1,747 water supply schemes were sanctioned under JJM in Himachal Pradesh:

• Work is ongoing on 1,100 schemes
• In Dharampur constituency alone, projects worth ₹1,441 crore were sanctioned
  • ₹603 crore worth of schemes completed
  • ₹849 crore worth of schemes remain incomplete

Agnihotri expressed hope that the remaining ₹849 crore would be sanctioned soon.

Allegation on Completion Certificate

The Deputy CM further alleged that the previous BJP government had informed the Government of India in writing that the Jal Jeevan Mission works in the state were complete, anticipating full release of funds.

He claimed that a subsequent central survey, possibly initiated due to dissatisfaction over JJM implementation nationwide, led to the withholding of the remaining ₹1,227 crore.

The issue adds to the ongoing political tussle between the ruling Congress government in Himachal Pradesh and the BJP over financial management and central fund allocation, particularly under centrally sponsored schemes.

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