Jal Jeevan Mission contractor dies by suicide over ₹1.40 cr dues from govt

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. (According to state government data, between January and April 2025, 869 farmers died by suicide across Maharashtra)

MUMBAI: 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.

The Sangli-based contractor had gone missing since Tuesday night, and his body was found in his farm on Wednesday. According to Vikram Patil, assistant police inspector from Kurlap police station, Walwa, he died by hanging himself to a branch of a tree. (Representative Image)

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. (According to state government data, between January and April 2025, 869 farmers died by suicide across Maharashtra.)

HT had reported on July 8 how the state’s ambitious push to reach clean tap water to every household under the Jal Jeevan Mission had hit a roadblock as the central government had decided to withdraw its grant for the scheme. As a result of this, 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.

The ripple effect of paucity of funds in the state’s purse has been felt by the government contractors for a year now, leading to protests in several quarters. The total outstanding amount due to contractors is around ₹90,000 crore which includes dues by the Public Works Department (PWD) of around ₹46,000 crore, Jal Jeevan Mission ₹12,000 crore, Rural Development Department ₹8600 crore etc. To add to the woes, the central government has not contributed to the Jal Jeevan Mission fund in Maharashtra since October 2024 – the state government informed this in a written reply to a question regarding Jal Jeevan Mission during the recently concluded monsoon session of the legislature.

While raising alarm over pending dues since February 2025, Milind Bhosale, president of the Maharashtra State Contractors’ Association and Avinash Patil, former president of Builders Association Of India, said “the burden of pending bills may drive many contractors to the fate of desperate farmers”.

The Sangli-based contractor had gone missing since Tuesday night, and his body was found in his farm on Wednesday. According to Vikram Patil, assistant police inspector from Kurlap police station, Walwa, he died by hanging himself to a branch of a tree. The deceased lived with his wife, a five-year-old daughter, two younger brothers and his parents. Patil said: “A case of accidental death has been registered in connection with the incident. While no suicide note has been found so far, investigations are on.”

“He was a government contractor who worked on the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme and suffered a financial crisis as his bills of completed work to the tune of ₹1.40 crore were pending with the government. Given the delay, he was compelled to take a loan of around ₹65 lakh from money lenders to run his business,” said Bhosale. “After the incident, a relative told us that he was under duress. He had shared with his friends that he was sandwiched between money lenders knocking at his door to recover the loan and the government not paying the bills.”

He added, “This has been our fear (for all contractors) for a year. If the government does not take this death seriously, many more individuals may choose this path.”

Gulabrao Patil, minister of water supply and sanitation, which runs the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme, said he was yet to receive any report on the contractor’s suicide, “but will inquire about it”. About the funds crunch, Patil said, “We have sent a proposal to the finance department to release funds to clear the pending dues of contractors. We hope to receive it soon.”

Veteran NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil, who belongs to Walwa, held the state government responsible for the contractor’s death. “Thousands of contractors like him kept trust in the state government and worked for the scheme. The Mahayuti government awarded contracts for various works to win elections, despite having no funds. This young contractor died by suicide as the governmnet did not pay his bills,” said Patil.