Nagaland: Road improvement projects and proposals galore

Some portions of the recently repaired road section from the new flyover to Supermarket were damaged by private parties using machinery to excavate their land adjacent to the newly constructed road near the DC's residence.

Morung Express News
Dimapur | March 7

Road repair and maintenance was a major promise of the PDA government. Two years on, the nodal department— Public Works Department (PWD) has claimed that most of the works as envisaged by the government have been completed while other works are on. 

Besides the original 60-day pledge (later rephrased 60 working days) to improve riding quality overshooting the deadline, other projects were also taken up in tandem, as per the Department. 

Back in March 2019, the then Roads & Bridges Minister had said that two parallel projects in Kohima and Dimapur (City Roads Improvement) were underway with emphasis on quality in respect to road pavement and drainage. 

The scope of the works was to cover 25 roads (40.6km) in Dimapur and 26 roads (52.6km) in Kohima. December 2018 to December 2019 was the timeframe. 

After 15 months, 85% of the work in Dimapur is said to have been completed. According to the latest update from Department officials, it should get done by the end of March, provided there is no unforeseen stoppage. The total value (revised) of the work stands at Rs 73cr, of which only Rs 14cr has been released so far. 

In Kohima, over 90% of the work is said to have been completed and the deadline till March-end. The original cost of the work stood at Rs 59.6cr. But a department official said that the cost would be higher considering the use of machinery erstwhile not used in Kohima town for this kind of work. 

Other works
Three road segments under NH 02, NH 702 and NH 702A were completed during 2018-19. As per the available information, the PWD’s National Highways (O) branch undertook strengthening and rehabilitation works from km125 to km 135 at NH 02 (Izheto-Alichen), from km 0 to km 35 at NH 702 and from km 53 to km 128 at NH 702A. 

Improvement works in 5 other road segments falling under the NH (O) totaling over 76km are said to be ongoing. It includes Botsa to New Tesophenyu (10km), New Tesophenyu to Longsa Gate (16.4km), Yisemyong to Unger (17km) besides two others in Dimapur and Kohima. 

Besides this, numerous other road projects are also in various stages of progress under different schemes and programmes. These include projects under the Annual Renewal Programme, the North East Council, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) in places such as Tuensang, Kiphire, Mon etc.  

Proposals under NESIDS 
during 2018-19 & 2019-20
Construction of road from Pathso to Wui via Pheshu village in Tuensang connecting Indo-Myanmar border (50km), Zunheboto town ring roads with (27km); and upgrading of Chare town NH-202 to Mangkahi village, Tsadang village, New Tsadang village (19km) have been proposed under the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS).
According to the Department, there are several other ongoing works under the State Earmarked Programme and State Non Development Works.

While projects and proposals are many, it remains to be seen how they translate into actual and quality work. Aside from major urban roads, connectivity in the interiors and even in semi-urban townships remains neglected. 

Furthermore, a major component of the PDA’s road pledge remains unfulfilled. On March 8, 2018, it had pledged, “A comprehensive master plan for maintenance of all major roads will also be put in place where citizens can monitor and give feedback on progress of works and quality control using information technology and web based mapping software will be implemented within 100 days.”