Jagti Water Supply Contract: Blue eyed firm gets endless favours?

JAGTI'S WATER RIDDLE >> Same firm bags contract since 2011 >> Outsourcing unique to this one scheme >> Annual cost soars to Rs 2.09 crore >> Residents protest erratic supply >> ACB probe stalled due to prosecution sanction

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Strange but true - since 2011, one particular firm has managed to monopolize the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) contract of the Water Supply Scheme (WSS) for Jagti Migrant Township, Nagrota, without interruption.

Year after year, despite multiple bidders and changing officials, the same company walks away with the coveted contract, raising troubling questions about transparency and accountability of public spending.

Jagti Township, housing thousands of displaced Kashmiri Pandits uprooted during the onset of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, depends on this scheme for its drinking water supply. The project is funded through the Centre's Security Related Expenditure (SRE), a special head meant to ensure uninterrupted civic amenities for vulnerable migrant populations. Ironically, the very residents who were supposed to be assured safe and regular drinking water have been protesting for years against erratic supply and poor upkeep.