The visit of Union Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi to Dimapur on Sunday, September 11, 2011 was quite unexpected. However the outcome of this particular visit seems to have been very positive. Due credit should go the Union Minister for taking all the initiative to come with the important officials of the Railway Ministry and thereby giving importance to the much neglected State. Whatever little that we in the media could observe during his short stay in Dimapur, the Union Minister seemed keen to find out for himself the situation on the ground and personally visited the Railway station and also gave valuable suggestions for its improvement. Hopefully for the railway officials accompanying the Minister, they will be able to follow up on the assurance/s made during this visit and also look into the grievances of the State. Many times follow up action is not done. The State government should also pursue from its end rather than wait and depend on the babus from the railway ministry. It will also make sense for the Chief Minister to appoint a point’s man maybe from the Transport Department to coordinate and undertake all measures related to Railway projects in the State. With the Government of India having announced several rail projects, the Nagaland government should ensure that due attention is given towards coordination with the Railway Ministry.
While the proposal in the current budget for taking up survey for a new rail line connecting Dimapur to Tizit is welcome, however it is of concern that the Dimapur-Zubza Railway line project announced several years ago during the time of Laloo Prasad Yadav is yet to take off. All of us want this rail project to be started and completed soon. But it is quite obvious that the project is stuck over land compensation. Since the rail project is for everyone’s benefit, the land owners should show some equanimity and take what is offered in the overall interest of bringing development. Otherwise even if we have a friendly Railway Minister ready to help our cause, failure on our part to resolve our internal dispute over compensation will only make even those who are willing to help us lose interest in our project/s. Land ownership issue has become one of the major obstacles in taking up any major developmental projects in Nagaland. Public support and cooperation is needed. At the same time, all of us need to control our greed.
If the facts are true, it is indeed quite shocking that for land compensation relating to airport expansion in Dimapur, the land owners had originally asked for Rs 600/- per sq feet. This is quite exorbitant. It is a fact that due to high cost of land demanded by the land owners several public projects have been stalled including the proposed railway line. The other project of economic importance the 4-lane National Highway 39 from Purana Bazar-Chumukedima-Kohima has not seen the light of day because of rampant encroachment and problem of land acquisition. Similarly, the much awaited Chiethu Greenfield airport at Kohima remains without any signs of taking off. The delay is reported to be due to the high estimate cost of construction — amounting to Rs.1231 crore. Coming to the Dimapur-Zubza railway project, it is for everyone’s benefit, the land owners should show some equanimity and take what is offered in the overall interest of bringing development. Otherwise the State government should not waste time and find alternate route/s. The overall development of our State should not be held hostage to the greed of a few people.
While the proposal in the current budget for taking up survey for a new rail line connecting Dimapur to Tizit is welcome, however it is of concern that the Dimapur-Zubza Railway line project announced several years ago during the time of Laloo Prasad Yadav is yet to take off. All of us want this rail project to be started and completed soon. But it is quite obvious that the project is stuck over land compensation. Since the rail project is for everyone’s benefit, the land owners should show some equanimity and take what is offered in the overall interest of bringing development. Otherwise even if we have a friendly Railway Minister ready to help our cause, failure on our part to resolve our internal dispute over compensation will only make even those who are willing to help us lose interest in our project/s. Land ownership issue has become one of the major obstacles in taking up any major developmental projects in Nagaland. Public support and cooperation is needed. At the same time, all of us need to control our greed.
If the facts are true, it is indeed quite shocking that for land compensation relating to airport expansion in Dimapur, the land owners had originally asked for Rs 600/- per sq feet. This is quite exorbitant. It is a fact that due to high cost of land demanded by the land owners several public projects have been stalled including the proposed railway line. The other project of economic importance the 4-lane National Highway 39 from Purana Bazar-Chumukedima-Kohima has not seen the light of day because of rampant encroachment and problem of land acquisition. Similarly, the much awaited Chiethu Greenfield airport at Kohima remains without any signs of taking off. The delay is reported to be due to the high estimate cost of construction — amounting to Rs.1231 crore. Coming to the Dimapur-Zubza railway project, it is for everyone’s benefit, the land owners should show some equanimity and take what is offered in the overall interest of bringing development. Otherwise the State government should not waste time and find alternate route/s. The overall development of our State should not be held hostage to the greed of a few people.
