{ JAL JEEVAN MISSION } FINANCIAL DISTRESS Contractor dies by suicide over ₹1.4 cr government dues

A thirty-five-year-old government contractor from Walwa tehsil, in Sangli district, who was working for the state government's Jal Jeevan Mission, died by suicide on Wednesday, allegedly as his pending dues of ₹1.40 crore were yet to be cleared by the government.

- Saurabha Kulshreshtha

While farmers’ suicides have defined the state's agrarian crisis for over three decades, this is the first time that a government contractor was driven to take his life due to financial distress.

HT had reported on July 8 how the state’s ambitious push to reach clean tap water to every household under Jal Jeevan Mission had hit a roadblock as the central government had decided to withdraw its grant for the scheme. As a result, the state is now bearing the burden of the full cost of all ongoing projects and future works. It comes at a time when the state government is already struggling to clear pending bills worth ₹12,000 crore for completed projects.