The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has registered a first information report after finding that full payment was made for incomplete works under the Har Ghar Nal Jal scheme in Mauganj district, Madhya Pradesh. The project was intended to provide tap water to 740 households, but investigators found that no household had received a connection.

The contractor was paid Rs. 38.5 mn for the project, despite failing to complete the contracted work. Those booked include then Public Health Engineering (PHE) executive engineer JP Dwivedi, then assistant engineer Sanjay Pandey, then sub-engineer AP Tiwari and contractor Shivendra Kumar Tiwari. The accused face charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The scheme was launched in 2021 under the Jal Jeevan Mission in Naigarhi development block to provide household water supply in villages across the district. The contract covered earthwork, road restoration, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe installation, a pump house, valve chambers, an automatic water-level indicator, a submersible pump, electrical fittings, household connections, taps and an overhead water tank.

Investigators found that the pipeline had been laid only up to village outskirts, while taps and concrete circular stand-posts had not been installed. A newly constructed water tank in Khatkhari collapsed, and the work remained unfinished after five years, although the contract required completion within nine months.

In Karah village, investigators found only one submersible motor against the five planned, with no tap fittings despite the claim of 740 connections. The overhead tank and sump well remained incomplete in Shivrajpur. In Judmaniya Raghunath, the main pipeline covered only half the village and had not been connected to individual homes.