Morung Express News
Kohima | March 6
The Kohima Bench of the Gauhati High Court issued a series of directions on March 2, with regard to the 4-laning of Dimapur Kohima Road, a project already long overdue.
The Court, currently hearing a Public Interest Litigation (Suo Moto) on the issue, on March 2 directed the Managing Director of the RAMKY-ECI (JV) to file an undertaking that the projects under Package I & II of the project, “other than slope protection shall be completed by 31st March 2022 and the slope protection by 30th April 2022.”
The Bench comprising of Justice Songkhupchung Serto and Justice Devashis Baruah gave the direction after the company’s counsel submitted that all the components, other than the slope protection, in the 2 packages would be completed by March 21, 2022.
The counsel further submitted that the incomplete “slope protection” segment would be done once the materials arrive in March, as intimated by the production plant.
A senior counsel appearing for the NHDICL also submitted that the slope protection work would be completed in 3 to 4 weeks time, “provided the materials are available.”
Accordingly, the Court directed that the work should be completed latest by April 30, 2022.
Regarding some issue raised by the company on the ROW (Right-of-Way), the Additional Advocate General also submitted that a joint verification was carried out on February 16, 2022 and necessary steps are being taken to evict encroachers, “if there is any.”
On the issue, the Court stated: “We direct the State respondents particularly, the Deputy Commissioner, Kohima to ensure that effective steps are taken to clear all encroachers from the Highway.”
The Court further directed Oasis TechnoCons Ltd, working on Package-III, to complete the earth-cutting by April 10 and the maintenance work on the 2-lane, including black topping, should be completed by March 31, as assured by the company. “Let the affidavits be filed within one week. The Authority Engineer shall also file an affidavit on the status of the work on the next date,” it added, listing the matter for hearing again on March 16.
The PIL was based on a news report on the slow pace of the construction of 4-lane road of the National Highway 29 between Kohima and Dimapur, entrusted to the National Highway and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) in 2015, and with stipulated completion time of 3 years.
The time period given for completion of the construction has already passed but seeing the way how the construction is going on, it is unlikely that it would be completed even in the coming two to three years, the Court observed, while first taking up the matter in October 2019.
“For the last more than 4 years the people of the State has suffered immensely due to the tardy progress made by the Stakeholders while the existing road has not been maintained even to make it a little more comfortable to travel.
Therefore, this Court has been constrained to take cognizance of the same,” it then stated.
As per the information on project status available on the NHIDCL website, the contracts for Package I and II of four-laning project, under the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for North East (SARDP-NE), were first awarded in May 15, 2016 with deadline to complete by September 6 and August 8, 2019, respectively.
The ‘Likely date of completion’ as the “Status 30.11.2021” put the date on February 28, which has already passed.
Meanwhile, the contract for Package III, which was originally awarded to Gayatri Projects Pvt. Ltd on April 22, 2016, was foreclosed on June 1, 2021, and the contract was ‘Re-awarded’ to OASIS Technocons Ltd on September 1, 2021, with September 1, 2022 as “Target date of completion.”
Another Package, falling under the same scheme, “Construction of 4/6 laning from Km 132.375 to Km 153.058 of Daboka Dimapur Section (Dimapur Bypass) of NH36 & 39 was awarded to Simplex Infrastructure Limited on April 4, 2017.
The “Target date of completion as per contract” was September 9, 2020 and ‘Likely date of completion,’ as per the NHIDCL website, was February 28, 2022.
