India, July 24 -- 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 Rs.1.40 crore were yet to be cleared by the government.

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 roadbloc...