Union Minister of State of Road Transport & Highways Jitin Prasada has told the Rajya Sabha that a Request for Proposal (RfP) would be invited from development bidders for the much-hyped, if troublesome and controversial, “four-lane” highway 39 running between Dimapur and Kohima in Nagaland. Union Minister told the Lok Sabha September 8 that the road project is stipulated for completion by March, 2015.
The Centre seeking the RfP indicates that actual works would commence soon on the road, which is being ‘implemented’ under Phase ‘A’ of the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for the North East (SARDP-NE).
A Request for Proposal (or RfP) is issued as one of the earliest components of a procurement process, where suppliers are invited normally through a bidding process, to submit a proposal on a specific commodity or service pertinent to the task in concern.
State’s Rs. 1,098 Crore project in Ministry’s 2011 report
According to details produced to the Rajya Sabha by the Union Minister, the Kohima-Dimapur National Highway-39 is to be constructed at an estimated cost of a colossal Rs. 1,098 Crore over the next four years. The 81 kilometers national highway is the chief artery of the state connecting with Nagaland’s all-important commercial district, Dimapur.
The implementation of two projects, National Highways Development Project (NHDP) and the SARDP-NE was initially affected due to delay in land acquisition, utility shifting, law and order problems, delay in obtaining forest/wild life clearances and such, Prasada said in his written reply to the Rajya Sabha. The anticipated date of completion of the SARDP-NE stretches is March, 2015, the minister said. According to details given by the minister, Nagaland, among Assam and Meghalaya, is the only state from which the Centre currently would be seeking the RfP. Meghalaya has two SARDP-NE road development projects.
The Jorabat-Barapani stretch is 10% completed while Detailed Project Report is being prepared for the state’s other highway, the Barapani-Shillong stretch. Assam has already completed its Daboka-Nagaon-Jorabat stretch (under NHDP) much earlier than its stipulated timeframe for completion, December 2012.
The Ministry for Road Transport and Highway has released its annual report for 2010-2011 where the Kohima-Dimapur four-lane national highway is marked. According to the report obtained by The Morung Express, the four-lane work includes the “Dimapur/Kohima by-pass,” apparently referring to the crucial Jotsoma bypass. The Roads ministry also said in its report that till December 31, 2010 there are nine “improvement works” are in progress at a cost of Rs. 146.76 Crore.
Notwithstanding the high hopes, the 4-lane project is no stranger to controversy. In fact just recently on September 19, disgruntled government contractors in Nagaland questioned the credibility of the firms contracted with the project, Gayatri-Maytas Infrastructure and a subsidiary M/s Ratna Infrastructure Project Pvt Ltd. The Nagaland Government Registered Class-I Contractors Union (NGRCCU) had alleged in a Media statement that the two firms are ‘blacklisted’ and conniving with state’s Public Works Department (PWD) for suspiciously high monetary stakes. The NGRCCU had alleged that the firms have ‘pre-conceived plans’ to make a profit of Rs. 688 Crore from a work that entailed a comparatively smaller implementation cost of Rs. 350 Crore.
The Centre seeking the RfP indicates that actual works would commence soon on the road, which is being ‘implemented’ under Phase ‘A’ of the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for the North East (SARDP-NE).
A Request for Proposal (or RfP) is issued as one of the earliest components of a procurement process, where suppliers are invited normally through a bidding process, to submit a proposal on a specific commodity or service pertinent to the task in concern.
State’s Rs. 1,098 Crore project in Ministry’s 2011 report
According to details produced to the Rajya Sabha by the Union Minister, the Kohima-Dimapur National Highway-39 is to be constructed at an estimated cost of a colossal Rs. 1,098 Crore over the next four years. The 81 kilometers national highway is the chief artery of the state connecting with Nagaland’s all-important commercial district, Dimapur.
The implementation of two projects, National Highways Development Project (NHDP) and the SARDP-NE was initially affected due to delay in land acquisition, utility shifting, law and order problems, delay in obtaining forest/wild life clearances and such, Prasada said in his written reply to the Rajya Sabha. The anticipated date of completion of the SARDP-NE stretches is March, 2015, the minister said. According to details given by the minister, Nagaland, among Assam and Meghalaya, is the only state from which the Centre currently would be seeking the RfP. Meghalaya has two SARDP-NE road development projects.
The Jorabat-Barapani stretch is 10% completed while Detailed Project Report is being prepared for the state’s other highway, the Barapani-Shillong stretch. Assam has already completed its Daboka-Nagaon-Jorabat stretch (under NHDP) much earlier than its stipulated timeframe for completion, December 2012.
The Ministry for Road Transport and Highway has released its annual report for 2010-2011 where the Kohima-Dimapur four-lane national highway is marked. According to the report obtained by The Morung Express, the four-lane work includes the “Dimapur/Kohima by-pass,” apparently referring to the crucial Jotsoma bypass. The Roads ministry also said in its report that till December 31, 2010 there are nine “improvement works” are in progress at a cost of Rs. 146.76 Crore.
Notwithstanding the high hopes, the 4-lane project is no stranger to controversy. In fact just recently on September 19, disgruntled government contractors in Nagaland questioned the credibility of the firms contracted with the project, Gayatri-Maytas Infrastructure and a subsidiary M/s Ratna Infrastructure Project Pvt Ltd. The Nagaland Government Registered Class-I Contractors Union (NGRCCU) had alleged in a Media statement that the two firms are ‘blacklisted’ and conniving with state’s Public Works Department (PWD) for suspiciously high monetary stakes. The NGRCCU had alleged that the firms have ‘pre-conceived plans’ to make a profit of Rs. 688 Crore from a work that entailed a comparatively smaller implementation cost of Rs. 350 Crore.
