The state PHE department will conduct a comprehensive door-to-door survey across the hills and the plains of Darjeeling district over the next two months to assess the actual implementation of the Centre’s Har Ghar Jal (drinking water supply) scheme, amid concerns that the reported progress on the project may not reflect the ground reality.

Darjeeling MP Raju Bista said here on Wednesday that the survey would verify the status of household tap water connections and examine whether the work claimed to have been completed was actually executed.

"Officials of the PHE department have informed us that around 50 per cent of the work under the scheme has been completed in the Darjeeling hills, while nearly 70 per cent has been completed in areas under the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad area. However, much of the reported progress appears to exist only on paper,” said the MP.

“To ascertain ground reality, teams from the department will visit every household in rural areas over the next two months. If any contractor is found to have failed in implementing the project despite claiming completion, payments due to them will be withheld,” he added.

Bista held a meeting of the district development coordination and monitoring committee (DISHA) for Darjeeling district at the state guest house here. Anandamay Barman, the minister of state for finance and transport, along with officials of the district administration and different departments, were present at the meeting.

The DISHA committee, constituted by the Union rural development ministry in 2016, is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Centre’s flagship programmes at the district level and for ensuring better coordination among different departments.

The committee oversees more than 40 schemes implemented by around 20 ministries, including Har Ghar Jal, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (rural and urban), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, AMRUT 2.0, the National Health Mission, Samagra Shiksha, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM).

After reviewing the progress of various central schemes in the district, the MP said around 4.2 lakh people in Darjeeling hills and in areas under the SMP have been brought under the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB G-RAM-G), which was rolled out in Bengal on Wednesday.

Among them, around 2.8 lakh beneficiaries are from the hills while the rest are from the SMP area.

“Through DISHA, we will closely monitor the execution of central schemes, bridge the developmental gaps, improve rural infrastructure, generate better livelihood opportunities for the youth and ensure that the benefits of government welfare programmes reach every eligible citizen,” the MP said.