JAMMU : 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.
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
Unlike every other water supply scheme across Jammu and Kashmir, which is directly maintained by the Public Health Engineering (now Jal Shakti) Department, Jagti WSS remains the only scheme outsourced to a private contractor. Initially, tenders were issued by the office of the Relief Commissioner (Migrants), but after 2021, vide GAD Order No: 381-JK(GAD) of 2021 dated 28-04-2021, the scheme was handed over to the Jal Shakti Department. Yet, the outsourcing route continues unchanged.
Why? That remains a million-dollar question.
The pattern is unmistakable. Each year, despite multiple firms bidding, the same contractor emerges as the “lowest bidder” – thus securing the deal. Allegations abound that eligibility criteria and tender conditions are custom-tailored to suit the favored firm, effectively shutting out fair competition. The blue eyed contractor seems to have virtually hijacked the tendering agency to further his vested interest.
If the numbers are any indication, the fiscal irregularities stand exposed.
November 2024 (e-NIT No 31 of 2024-25) for six-month O&M contract cost pegged at Rs 75 lakh, i.e., Rs 1.5 crore annually. Surprisingly, however, August 2025 (e-NIT No 17 of 2025) advertised cost for 12 months suddenly shot up to Rs 2.09 crore. This represents a 40 percent escalation in less than a year, without any corresponding upgradation of services. On the ground, residents of Jagti continue to face intermittent, irregular water supply.
Not only have Jagti residents been demonstrations demanding regular water supply, but even aggrieved contractors have alleged irregularities in the tendering process. Complaints were lodged, and according to credible sources, the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) had indeed taken cognizance. Preliminary findings reportedly established a prima facie case of omissions and commissions in the bidding mechanism. Yet, with no sanction for prosecution forthcoming, the file has been left to gather dust in official corridors.
The persistence of one firm winning tenders for over a decade, the arbitrary cost escalations, and the lack of punitive clauses point to what experts call a classic case of “engineered tenders”. The question also arises, why was Jagti singled out for outsourcing while every other WSS remains in departmental control? Why have successive governments and departments looked the other way, ignoring both public grievances and corruption red flags?
