Dimapur, September 9 (MExN): The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) today clarified that there has been no complaints regarding the maintenance of the National Highway 155 right from 1970 till date and that the BRO has always kept the road opened despite the vagaries and fury of nature.
A press statement received here from the 15 BRTF comes as a rejoinder to the news item published in this paper on September 7 under the caption, ‘Government clarifies on bad roads blames natural calamity’.
The BRO said that the NH-155 from Jessami to Tuensang via Meluri and Kiphire was being maintained by the Organisation to the full satisfaction of the road users, and that there had been no complaints as the BRO had been maintaining the road effectively despite the vagaries and fury of nature which caused landslides and washing way of the roads.
“The inhabitants of Jessami, Meluri, Kiphire and Tuensang townships along with various villages enroute are living testimony to this fact,” the statement said.
The BRO also clarified that the Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways has declared the road as NH-15 during February 2004 after realizing the need for up gradation of the road to a double lane National Highway. The work preparation of Detailed Project Report was entrusted to the BRO, it said.
The BRO said that although the issue of handing over of the road to the PWD was being discussed and deliberated within the state authorities and the central ministry, no clear order was received till August 17 by the BRO.
However, the BRO maintained that immediately after orders were received, it contacted the State PWD and state authorities to take over the road at the earliest.
“Subsequently the road was handed over on 30th August 2007 to the State PWD,” the BRO said.
The BRO further clarified that the machineries are being purchased by the BRO through a consolidated fund craved out of the total GS budget and part of the cost of the machineries which have been utilized up to the extend on a particular road or a particular work is b\debited to the work.
The BRO, in this regard, said that the question of handing over any machinery to other agency does not arise and had never been practiced by the BRO. The BRO also does not ask for handing over o any machinery from any department while taking over any road anywhere in the country, it added.
Furthermore, the BRO said that it has been maintaining the NH-155 up to the standards and as per the specification up to August 30 by utilizing appropriate amount of funds. Since the road is handed over to the NPWD, the balance amount of funds aer being surrendered to the Ministry for allotment to NPWD, it said.
“BRO stands committed in the development of road infrastructure and surface communication network in the entire state of Nagaland with dedicated and sincere workforce living up to the expectation of the road users and local public,” the BRO maintained.
.jpg)
